Happiness is a Journey (Not a Destination)
by adubbs47
Summary: This will be a collection of Tumblr Prompts I receive. Some will be funny, some will be angst filled. All will be Olicity.
1. Arrested

**AN: This will be a collection of Olicity one shots I write from prompts I've been sent on tumblr and maybe a few extras mixed in. I'd love to hear what you all think!**

**Rating (Overall): T (I will change it if necessary)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or any of the characters within.**

_Olicity prompt - How about Felicity + Oliver get arrested for some crazy reason and they have a very "This is you're fault" old married couple argument infront of a crowd of people including Captain Lance :)_

**Arrested**

"Why don't you two just sit here and," Captain Lance paused to hide a dry smirk at the sight of both Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak handcuffed and dripping wet in the interrogation room. "Dry off while I process your paperwork."

The situation would be more amusing if Felicity would speak to him without glaring, or even just speak to him. The ride to the station had been icy at best, with her sidelong glances and little huffs every time he was asked a question.

He didn't understand why she was so upset seeing as how they had been through worse predicaments than being arrested for trespassing. Besides, this was mostly her fault anyway - If she hadn't pushed him in the pool then no one would have known that they were trespassing.

Oliver nodded to Lance before cutting a glare to Felicity who had yet to look at him since the police showed up.

"Hey Queen," Quentin paused as he looked back at Oliver with a slight grin. "It kinda feels like old times, me bringing you in, in handcuffs."

Oliver pasted a tight lipped smile on his face as Felicity huffed beside him. Lance gave Oliver a sympathetic nod before exiting the interview room.

"Is there something that you want to say, Felicity?" Oliver asked as he stared down at his cuffed wrists.

"No, Oliver, what could I possibly want to say?" Felicity supplied with a saccharine sweet smile. "I'm sure that I have no comment on you getting me arrested for trespassing on private property, ruining a perfectly good night off, and getting me soaking wet." Felicity groaned as she realized what she had said. "You know what I mean."

Oliver would have been amused if she hadn't just accused him of getting her arrested. She was the one who pushed him into the damn pool to begin with. If this was anyone's fault, it was hers.

"If you had just listened to my plan in the first place none of this would have happened." Felicity charged as she tried to move her wrists, which were also cuffed to the table, before letting them fall back into her lap in frustration.

"You know, relaxing makes the whole process would go by much smoother," Oliver told her with a roll of his eyes.

"Well you would be the expert on getting arrested for this sort of thing." Felicity laughed with a shake of her head.

"Are we really going there?" Oliver asked, finally turning to look at his partner. "Really? Right now?"

"Well why not?" Felicity shifted in her seat to face him as well. "It's as good a time as any." She spat as she brought her cuffed hands up to shake in his view.

"Fine," Oliver said. "Then for the record, my plan was a good plan, and if you had gone along with it then we wouldn't have been caught." Oliver told her in a matter of fact tone.

Felicity glared at him as she felt a bead of water drip from the skirt of her dress while Oliver's clothes were still dripping onto the floor beneath her seat. When she spotted the guard heading towards them she had just reacted. Her intention was to pull Oliver in for a kiss like she saw in the movies. It always seemed to be a suitable distraction.

Felicity hadn't accounted for the fact that Oliver was so heavily engrossed in what he was watching that Felicity's movement had thrown them off balance, and right into the in-ground pool behind them.

"Your plan was terrible and I was only trying to keep us from getting caught." Felicity pointed out. "If you had been paying attention then that little dip in the pool wouldn't have ruined my dress."

"I'll buy you a new one." Oliver grunted as he glanced around the room. "What is taking Captain Lance so long?"

"The fact that you even tried to pull this off, tonight of all nights, makes me wonder just how dense you are." Felicity chastised him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Oliver asked slowly as he attempted to angle himself in his seat.

"You never think things through when you're emotional. You just dive in head first, to hell with the consequences." She challenged him.

"Felicity, it's a dress." Oliver groaned in frustration. "Besides you are the one who pushed me into the pool, not the other way around. If we had stayed on solid ground then we wouldn't have gotten arrested." Oliver pushed back. "Why are you so mad at me?"

"Because you are the one who asked me out to dinner, when what you really wanted was to tail Thea and her date by sneaking into a private venue with a supply of baby arrows in your pocket!" Felicity lowered her voice towards the end but Oliver noted the flare of anger in her eyes. "Arrows that would have exposed you as the Arrow – So excuse me for trying to take the attention off of the creepy guy standing in the bushes at an extremely high end restaurant!"

"Because the two people careening into the 'not for swimming,' swimming pool took all that attention off of me." Oliver rolled his eyes. "Besides, I don't trust the guy. He just shows up out of nowhere and asks her to some fancy restaurant with a rooftop bar and pool. It's ridiculous; no one does that without an ulterior motive." Oliver told her.

"Oh God!" Felicity cried out in frustration. "It's called dating Oliver … And you are right, he did have an ulterior motive. It was called having dinner with your beautiful sister and possibly getting laid." Oliver cringed at her words. "Which is what I thought your motive had been for asking me out to this stupid dinner, making me the most stupid person I know."

"Hey…you're not stupid." Oliver's face morphed into one of confusion.

"Oh yeah, it feels like I am." Felicity sighed before pausing. "I mean I accidentally pushed you into a pool to avoid getting caught by security when I probably just could have ducked behind a plant or something."

Oliver laughed as he caught the corners of Felicity's lips lift to form a smile.

"Well it was a bad idea to track Thea's date and messing ours up." He added. "I should have listened to you when I picked you up tonight and just left Thea go on her date in peace."

"So are we ok?" Felicity asked after a pause.

"Let me buy you a burger and shake and I think we'll be on the right path." Oliver told her as he tried to move his handcuffed wrists towards hers.

* * *

><p>"What are you guys doing?" Laurel asked as she entered the observation room to find her father, Diggle, and Roy watching what was happening in the interrogation room.<p>

"Laurel, sweetie," Captain Lance turned to smile at her. "What are you doing here?"

Laurel tipped her head as Diggle and Roy turned to her with amused grins on their faces. Usually when they looked like that it meant that Team Arrow was having a random lite day mixed in with their full-time job of fighting crime.

"Felicity called me because she had been arrested for trespassing and disorderly conduct which is weird because she is supposed to be out on a date with Oliver." Laurel told them as she placed her briefcase on the table beside her. "The officers out front said that she was back here."

"Oh, they're back here all right," Roy said with a laugh

"What do you mean?" Laurel looked between the three men in confusion. "Wait, what do you mean 'they'?"

"Oliver and Felicity had a mishap at a restaurant tonight, but I already got that squared away with the owner." Lance told his daughter as he rocked back on his heels. "You didn't even have to come down here."

"O-k," Laurel drawled out. "Do Felicity and Oliver know that?"

"Well, Felicity and Oliver were in the middle of a heated conversation when one of my officers got off the phone with the owner and we just didn't want to interrupt." Lance told her as he gestured to the interview room where Oliver and Felicity sat.

Laurel watched as Roy nodded along with her father while Diggle stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Something told her that he wasn't one hundred percent on board with leaving a tense Oliver and Felicity handcuffed in the interrogation room to work out their issues. But maybe she was wrong.

"Besides, I think they'll thank us for it later," Captain Lance turned to glance through the mirror where Oliver and Felicity seemed to be talking, but this time with smiles on their faces.


	2. Undercover

**You're Olicity getting arrested prompt was AMAZING:) How about an undercover fake relationship where Felicity surprises Oliver in every way possible.**

* * *

><p>"What is he even doing?" Felicity asked Diggle as they sat in the van outside of the party.<p>

Tonight's mission was supposed to be easy. All Oliver had to do was shake the right hands and make small talk while Roy broke into the Governor's office to plant the bug. Oliver had been firm that Felicity stay in the van to walk Roy through his end of the plan. Dig was to serve as back up in the event that Oliver and Roy were compromised.

Out of everyone, Oliver had the easiest part of the plan.

Yet he arrived twenty minutes late, skipped a button on his crisp white button up that Felicity had dry cleaned the day before, and was trying to avoid some ex-fling of his. He couldn't even get near the governor, let alone distract him. The entire situation had become entirely comical.

"I think he's trying to hide behind the ficus," Diggle noted without looking up at the screen.

"Oliver," Felicity said into the communication device in front of her. "You need to distract the governor and his guards so Roy can sneak down the hallway."

"I'm trying." Oliver's hushed tone could be heard over the laptop speaker. "It's not as easy as you would think."

Felicity turned her head to glance at Diggle who merely shook his head with a grin.

"Did you ever think that maybe if you had partied less before the island that random one night stands popping up out of the wood work wouldn't be as much of an issue?" Roy's voice came over the speakers with a hint of laughter mixed in.

"Not helping, Roy." Felicity snapped as she brought a hand to her forehead. "Just wait where you're at."

"Why?" Oliver and Roy questioned at the same time while Diggle gave her a questioning glance.

Felicity rolled her eyes as she began to shift the laptop to Diggle. "I have a plan, that's why."

Felicity began to pull on her ponytail, removing the elastic holding it in a neat and regular ponytail, as she caught sight of Dig's expression.

"You do realize that you don't have an invitation to get in there, right?" Diggle asked, ducking as Felicity began to hurdle over the back seat.

"Who needs an invitation when you're the new co-CEO of Queen Consolidated?" Felicity gave Diggle a lopsided grin as she began to pull articles of clothes out of her oversized bag. "Now turn around, I have to be quick."

* * *

><p>"Ahh, Oliver, there you are." Oliver closed his eyes shut as he heard the voice of one of the businessmen he had been talking to earlier. "We were <em>wondering<em> where you got off too."

Oliver heard the insinuation in their tones and resented their implications, but knew that the old Oliver Queen never failed to disappoint the one percenters with tales of his grand debauchery.

Oliver turned from his spot near the wall, pasting a fake smile on his face as he did, to greet Tyson Lawrence, real estate developer.

Tyson had been one of his father's golf buddies when Oliver was younger. Obviously the years Oliver spent away from Starling City, and the years that Queen Consolidated's name was associated with various disasters in the city, meant that any respect for the Queen name was gone. Lately, however, the stock in the company and public interest in the new 'For Starling' campaign was steadily rising.

It was all thanks to Felicity and, in small part, Ray Palmer. Felicity had been leading the Applied Sciences division when Ray chose to appoint Felicity CEO of the company. In true Felicity style, she brought Oliver back to the company and now shared the title with her.

Following Palmer and Felicity's plans to improve Starling had been working so far. People who had turned their backs on the Queen name, now welcomed him back to the fold with open arms. Tyson Lawrence was case in point.

"Ah yes, I was just – " Oliver cut himself off as he caught sight of a beautiful blonde, in a red chiffon gown, making her way towards him through the crowd. "Umm, will you gentlemen excuse me?"

Oliver didn't wait for their responses as he headed to meet Felicity half way across the room.

She looked stunning as her hair had been taken from its traditional ponytail and let down to frame her face. Felicity now wore a floor length flowing gown, which had a lace bodice and a plunging neckline. While her presence was surprise enough, Oliver knew for a fact that Felicity had not been wearing that dress when they arrived a half hour ago.

"What are you doing?" Oliver tried to mask his shock, and slight arousal, with veiled anger at having her so close to the mission and him. "I thought I told you to stay in the car with Diggle."

"Oh you did." Felicity smiled as she placed a hand on Oliver's arm to give it a squeeze for the audience they had attracted. "You seemed like you were struggling, so I came to help. By the way, your buddies over there seem curious about why you just left them hanging. Maybe you should kiss me."

"What? Why?" Oliver asked in shock.

"They won't think twice about Oliver Queen kissing some random, beautiful woman, no offense." At Oliver's disapproving look Felicity smiled. "It is a compliment to how good your cover is. They'll probably just think I'm your date."

Oliver pursed his lips in frustration before leaning in to give her a small peck on the cheek.

"See, that wasn't so bad, a little awkward – "

"How did you get in?" Oliver interrupted her. "And where did you get that dress?"

"I always pack a backup outfit when we go on missions in case we need to improvise." Felicity told him in a matter of fact tone. "The nice men at the door were only all too willing to let in the newly appointed CEO-"

"Co-CEO," Oliver interrupted again, letting his hand rest on the crook of her elbow.

"Co- CEO of Queen Consolidated, especially because I'm on the list." Oliver could tell that she was enjoying herself.

"How? – Never mind." Oliver halted as he brought his other hand up to rub his temples. "Just stick close to me, we don't know who to trust and it's too dangerous for you to be here."

"It's dangerous, oh no, why didn't you say that before?" Felicity exaggerated her response before pausing to wind her arm through his. "Don't worry, I will follow your lead, I'm just here to help. No more surprises, promise."

Oliver held back a groan as he escorted her back to the group of men and women who had been watching the two with rapt attention.

"Oliver, who is this lovely young lady?" Tyson questioned as Oliver noted Tyson's wife hold onto her husband's arm a little tighter.

"This is Felicity Smoak, my partner at Queen Consolidated." Oliver introduced her without letting go of her arm.

"And his girlfriend." Felicity added with a smile.

As nods of approval circulated the group Oliver took a moment to shoot Felicity a questioning glance to which she simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Felicity Smoak? Weren't you the young lady who wrote the article on using thermodynamics to produce enough clean energy to power a mid-size urban city?" Oliver and Felicity turned to see the governor approach their group.

"Yes that was me." Felicity answered, not letting her shock at being noticed by the governor of their state (who they were also investigating for criminal acts) shake her response.

"I was about to have my assistant contact your office Monday morning to schedule a meeting. How fortuitous that you are here tonight. I'd love to speak to you more about your research if you don't mind?" The governor gave her a bright smile, one that was used specifically for campaign funds and elbow rubbing with the fellow rich. It meant that Felicity was important.

Of course, Oliver already knew that.

"I would love too." Felicity smiled wide before turning to Oliver. "Sweetie, do you mind if I chat with the governor about work? I promise to keep all of our best secrets." Felicity asked him with a wink.

"Of course," Oliver returned her smile. "Gentlemen, you'll have to excuse us."

"Guys I'm in the office, I need a few minutes to plant and activate the bug." Roy came over the comms in both their ears. To her credit, Felicity didn't even flinch when she heard this news while Oliver turned to gauge her reaction.

"I don't think you have to worry about time, Felicity's got it covered." Diggle responded to Roy's update.

"Felicity?" Roy's confused voice came through.

"Yeah, turns out our girl is a big celebrity to the governor." The pride in Diggle's voice could be heard loud and clear.

Felicity leaned in close to Oliver so he could hear her whisper. "You can thank me later."

Oliver gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and a small wink before leaning to kiss her forehead. He would definitely be thanking her later.

**AN: Thank you for reading. I'd love to hear what you think! **

**You can also find me on tumblr ( .com)**


	3. Tattoo

**AN: Thank you all that are reading and reviewing, faving and following. I seem to be having better luck with the prompts than I am with my multi-chapter story. Here's another and I thoroughly enjoyed writing! Let me know what you think. Warning: It is slightly more mature (but not Mature, mature) than I'm used to writing, so I'm changing the rating, just to be safe. **

_**Olicity Prompt: Oliver finds out Felicity has a tattoo (Established or Unestablished Olicity. dealers choice) that is either very significant or a drunkin mistake by a college day Felicity(again, dealers choice). please and Thank you xo**_

The first time he saw it was after she was injured by way of a knife. The mission had become complicated when there had been more guards than the team had prepared for.

Felicity was supposed to tap into the main server in order to begin a large file transfer, but that one guard came out of nowhere.

Oliver had been handling the two guards outside of the server room while Roy took on two more down the hall. When they heard Felicity's yelp of pain, as she attempted to dodge the knife that just grazed her side, Oliver felt a surge of increased adrenaline kick in as he took out both guards and swept into the room to take out a third.

It had been foolish to leave her alone, but they hadn't anticipated the extra guards. _The wound wasn't deep_, he noted as he did a quick examination after he shot the other guard with a tranquilizer dart. He swiftly lifted her in his arms, against her protests, and carried her out of the building.

She was fine, or so she kept telling them, but every bump they hit on the drive back to the lair she winced.

The cut was on her left side and just high enough that in order to clean it and stitch it closed she would need to be partially shirtless. Diggle hadn't been with them that night, and Roy had been squeamish when it came to seeing Felicity with her shirt off. He kept saying that it was like seeing his sister naked.

Oliver and Felicity had rolled their eyes at him before realizing that meant Oliver was left to patch her up. It had been ten months since they last kissed.

They had made progress in terms of their relationship, however Oliver knew that Felicity was still bruised from their last attempt and his subsequent withdrawal. He noticed Felicity tense slightly at the thought of Oliver having to stitch her wound.

Even so, he wasn't willing to give up on her. He had all the time in the world.

At first he thought that the tattoo was a birth mark, it was small and strategically placed along her ribcage beneath her left breast. He tried not to look at it too closely as he focused on the task at hand: Felicity, wounded and bleeding on the table.

She tried to crack a joke about 'platonic circumstances' and he faked a laugh as he let his fingers linger a second longer than was necessary on the line of stitches he has sown.

She didn't mention the tattoo or comment on the way his eyes went dark with arousal as she shrugged into his blue button down shirt, which was the only thing she could put back on without pulling on her stitches.

She went home alone while he put in a few extra hours of training to work off the energy from that night.

The second time he noticed her tattoo he was able to make out what it was – a cross with what looked like a loop on top.

They had just finished wrapping up their respective tasks – Oliver finished putting away his new arrows, while Felicity began running a new search on the computers.

"So do you have any plans for tonight?" He asked casually as she began to pick up her jacket.

"Well it is after two am, so I'm going to say a hot date with my bed," she told him with a smile. "How about you? Any plans?"

"Probably the same," He froze as a sudden awkward feeling swept over him. "I don't mean the same – I didn't mean that I had a – Not that that would be a bad thing." Oliver paused as he took a deep breath, unsure of where the string of broken sentences had come from.

"Oliver, you're babbling," Felicity said with a smile.

Oliver took a breath before giving her a forced smile. "I guess I am."

"It's ok," Felicity told him as she took a few steps towards him. "I think it's kind of cute."

Oliver bit his lip as Felicity came to stand directly in front of him, barely a breath away. "Felicity," he breathed out as he brought his hands to her hips. He wasn't sure if he meant to push her away, or pull her to him.

Felicity didn't say anything as she stood to the tips of her toes before placing her soft lips against his. It had been over a year since their last kiss in the hallway of the maternity wing at Starling General Hospital. This kiss, Oliver thought, was not like that one.

Felicity's lips were still just as soft as he remembered, with the faint taste of vanilla mixed in.

His heart was beating in his chest as he felt Felicity open her mouth while pulling him closer. The kiss was filled with yearning, and promise.

He could feel Felicity smile against his lips as he brought his hands up to cup the base of her almost didn't notice her lithe fingers moving beneath his t-shirt, bunching up the hem before removing it altogether. He was having a hard time putting a coherent thought together as his hands began to unbutton her blouse.

He felt her sharp intake of breath as he pushed her blouse to the floor, leaving her in a blue, lace bra. His hands began to smooth down her shoulders, his right grazing her lace covered breast before settling on her hips.

Felicity's hands weren't idle either. Oliver couldn't help but let out a quiet moan as Felicity ran her fingernails down the planes of his shoulders and back.

It was only once Felicity's hand reached the button on his jeans that he paused to look down to her face, meeting her eyes. Felicity gave him a small, coy smile before pressing their lips together once more.

Oliver was vaguely aware of the tell-tale 'beeps' from the keypad on the main door above as his mind was focused on more pleasurable activities. He couldn't focus on anything besides the beautiful woman who was pressed against his firm chest – The woman who was trying to lead him backwards towards her desk.

"Oh shit!" Oliver heard a sharp voice come from the base of the steps.

As if a bucket of ice water was dropped over them, Oliver and Felicity jumped apart to face a shocked Roy.

"Oh God, Roy, turn around!" Felicity yelled out as she realized that she was standing in front of their partner half-naked. Roy didn't need to be told twice as he wrapped a hand up to his temple and spun away from Oliver and Felicity.

She turned around, looking to the floor to find anything to cover her nearly naked chest while Oliver bent to the floor to retrieve Felicity's forgotten shirt. As he handed her the garment, he caught sight of the tattoo emblazoned on her ribs.

Before he could comment on it, Felicity had pulled her shirt tight across her chest.

"You guys could at least put a tie on the doorknob or something," Roy muttered in front of them. " Anything, really."

Oliver looked to Felicity who was now avoiding his gaze.

"If you guys are going to be doing this down here we really need rules or something," Roy informed them as he kept his back facing them.

Oliver chanced a glance to Felicity once more to find her with a hand covering her face, shaking with laughter. She looked up to him, eyes twinkling with what he read to be promise. It was a promise that this time, it wasn't an ending.

The third time he saw the mark they had been spending their Sunday morning just laying in bed, the only material covering them was the white sheet of Felicity's bed.

Oliver's hand traced the mark across her ribs as he brushed his lips over her forehead, nose, lips, and cheeks. Her hands weren't idle either as they ran down his arms and across his chest, tracing the marks of his scars.

It was how they normally spent most Sunday mornings now, committing the other to memory.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Felicity asked in a husky voice that said they hadn't spoken since they waking up forty-five minutes prior.

"Hmm," Oliver hummed as he brought his free hand to prop his head up. "I'm quite happy where I'm at right now."

Felicity gave a dramatic gasp before the corners of her lips lifted. "Oliver Queen is happy?" Oliver laughed at her teasing tone. "Someone should alert the media."

"Ha Ha," he deadpanned as he gave her side a slight squeeze before going back to tracing her tattoo. "Why did you get this?" He asked in effort to change the subject.

"My tattoo?" Felicity asked as she tipped her head to see what he meant. "I was young and impulsive. I think my mother almost jumped for joy when she found out I had it."

Oliver laughed as he continued tracing the lines. "What does it mean?"

"It's the Ankh, an Egyptian symbol for eternal life," she told him as she ran a hand down his arm. "When I went to MIT it was one of the first things I did. I guess I thought it was some deep and meaningful moment in my life so I should pick something that represented that."

Oliver let the corners of his lips lift as she explained the story behind her mark.

"To me, MIT symbolized me starting a new life and leaving my old life behind. I wanted something that meant something, and this means something."

Oliver smiled as he leaned forward to kiss her lips gently.

"And if you start waxing poetic about how our love is eternal, or I'm the light of your life, or something equally cheesy, I am never having sex with you again." She challenged.

"I wasn't going to say that," he murmured as he tried to move closer to her before she pulled back.

"Because I'm serious, Oliver Queen," she told him as she pushed against his naked chest.

"I believe it," he told her while still trying to pull her closer. "I would never be cheesy with you."

Felicity smiled as she let him pull her close so that they were flush against one another.

"Or I would do my best to limit my cheesiness with you." He winked.

"Good," she told him with a whisper and a smile as she jumped away from him and off the bed. "Because last one in the bathroom for hot, steamy shower sex has to clean the kitchen."

Oliver gave a laugh before jumping to race her into the bathroom.


	4. Out to the Ballgame

**Olicity prompt: Team Arrow goes to a Rocket's game to decompress when some rowdy, drunk fans insult Felicity in some way.**

"Thank you for suggesting this," Oliver told Felicity as he leaned over so that she could hear him. While he was speaking at a normal volume, the roar of the crowd kept drowning him out. The closer he got, the better she heard him.

"Hey I'm all for productive team building and general merriment." Felicity winked as she gave him a warm smile.

Just last week she had broken things off with Ray, which hadn't really been a "big deal." They had only been on a few dates, two of which had not included outside investors, none of which resulted in him going further than her apartment threshold. Even so, it made Felicity want to get out of the lair and the office. Maybe give her a chance to pick up a hobby or make some friends outside of the crime fighting business.

She only casually mentioned to Roy, in front of Diggle and Oliver, that she was looking for something to do that Saturday when all three began to list different ideas. When Oliver mentioned that his father used to bring him and Tommy to Rocket's games on Saturdays Felicity started looking into ticket prices.

His face lit up as he spoke about the memories he had of a younger Robert Queen explaining the game of baseball to a young Oliver. It was before the island and before the list.

Felicity wondered what that younger version of Oliver looked like inside. She knew Oliver's reputation, but she wished she knew the younger him – The Oliver that wasn't bruised and beaten by years of sadness and darkness would be so different from the man he was now. Yet she suspected still the same.

After finding the prices reasonable at the last-minute she suggested to the group that they all go together. Kind of like a corporate retreat.

"Yeah, but this was supposed to be your day off," he told her as the runner on third began to make his way towards home.

Felicity tore her eyes away from the game as the crowd began to cheer. She gently took Oliver's calloused hand in her own with a smile.

"This is a good day off." She assured him before turning back to the game.

Felicity knew how hard Oliver worked and the weight that he placed on his shoulders. If taking him to a baseball game with Diggle and Roy helped ease any of that burden, then she was more than willing to give up one Saturday of doing … well, she didn't know what she would be doing. She would probably be sitting alone at a coffee shop or giving herself a mani/pedi while catching up on her missed shows that seemed to pile up on her Tivo.

This was actually a good day for her too.

"Hey, Oliver." Felicity leaned towards him to catch his attention. "I'm going to make a hot dog run. Do you want anything?"

Oliver shook his head "no" as Diggle approached their seats with a new Rockets cap on his head and a shopping bag on his wrist.

"They are having a sale in the shop near the bathrooms, half price onesies," Diggle told them as he pulled a small onesie for Sara out of his bag.

Felicity laughed as Oliver seemed genuinely impressed at Diggle's purchase before both men went back to watching their game. Felicity didn't ask where Roy was as he wasn't really 'into' the sport of baseball. Felicity suspected that he came so he didn't miss out on a group outing that didn't involve stray bullets.

It had been a long time since Felicity had gone to any sort of sporting event. Her mother hadn't been an avid fan of any sport, but she did support the outfits. In high school and college, Felicity hadn't been that invested in school spirit and she didn't have a real interest in or desire to learn about them.

Being at the ball park today had given her a whole new outlook on it. Felicity saw the admiration Oliver and Diggle had for the game, but more specifically the memories it brought up. Oliver cherished those memories he had of his father and Tommy while Diggle was looking forward to creating similar memories with Sara and Lyla.

Today was one of those memories that Felicity would treasure, just like Oliver and Diggle.

As Felicity approached the snack stand she observed a group of rowdy men, probably a year or two her junior that were obviously intoxicated. The four men were standing off to the side, leering at the women who approached and cackling at some of the men. She just sighed inwardly as she approached the stand. The clerks behind the stand also seemed uncomfortable with the display.

"Woo-hoo, do you see that?" One of them called out with a laugh as the overhead display showed the Rockets making another home run.

Felicity really wished the line would go a little faster so that she could get back to the game. She really was enjoying it.

"Hey sweetie, I bet I can take your order," Felicity felt one of them come up behind her as she took her place in line. Felicity shifted, holding her purse a little tighter in case she needed to use it as a weapon.

One of the many high points of working with a team of vigilantes was that she was becoming more capable of handling herself. Granted she was more clumsy and less skilled than all of them, but she was making progress. Laurel had even offered to bring her to Ted Grant's gym for some lessons if she ever wanted to learn a little more.

Even so, the catcalling and suggestive remarks that some men made still made her uncomfortable.

"Oh come on, sweetie, I think you're pretty," She heard him laugh behind her, taking a step closer into her personal bubble. "That's a compliment. Don't you like compliments?"

Felicity took a breath as she steadied her feet to the ground before shifting in her spot.

"Can you just leave me alone," she told him leaving the question out of her statement. She was already plotting how she was going to teach them an invaluable lesson via a large charitable donation to the cause of her choice. "I'm obviously not interested."

"Fine, I'm just _obviously_ trying to be friendly," he told her as he took an exaggerated bow behind her and began walking back to her group. "No need to be such a bitch about it."

"Excuse me," Felicity cringed as soon as she heard the voice. She didn't even need to turn around to know that it was Oliver. "What did you just say to her?"

Felicity turned on her heel, already knowing what Oliver wanted to do. Felicity knew that Oliver was protective of his friends, his team, and knew that he wouldn't take too kindly to any one of them being insulted.

"Hey, hey." Felicity said as she spun in her spot to step in between the men who had been harassing her and where Oliver stood. To his credit he looked only slightly less intimidating than when he was wearing his hood. "It's ok, I handled it."

"Yeah, buddy, she handled it," One of the other men said, he was wearing a backwards baseball cap and a Rockets jersey, and had his hands raised in surrender. "No harm done."

Oliver didn't respond, only glared at the four men with a look that Felicity swore was all Arrow. His entire frame was tense and his fingers began rubbing together, as if he was itching to put an arrow into any of these men in front of them.

"You owe her an apology," Oliver told them simply, his jaw clenched at he spoke. "And don't all rush at once."

The four men each apologized at once, similar to how a group of five-year olds would respond to being caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Felicity would have found it funny if Oliver hadn't looked like he was visualizing what arrow to use that would cause the most amount of pain.

She watched as he took a step towards the men, closing the distance between them so that onlookers wouldn't be able to hear what he was saying.

"This better be the last time any of you pull a stunt like this again," he told them is his Arrow voice. "Believe me, you will not like the consequences if I find out you did."

Felicity wanted to object to the fact that Oliver was not the Arrow at that moment and that his threat wouldn't hold as much weight when the young man who had harassed Felicity gave a deep belly laugh, bending over and spilling the plastic cup of beer in one of his friends' hand.

She didn't even have a chance to blink before Oliver pushed his right arm up and did some sort of move that he must have learned during his time with the Bratva. Somehow Oliver jabbed the man's throat with an open hand, effectively winding him in a matter of seconds. He must've hit a pressure point, Felicity thought to herself.

Felicity watched as another one of the man's friends caught him as he began to fall back, coughing and gasping on his way down to the ground.

Oliver turned around with a pleased smile on his face until he caught Felicity's eye.

"You know I could have handled it," Felicity told him as he ushered her to another food stand. "I had it totally under control."

Oliver nodded in reply. "I know," he told her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "But that's what partners are for."

He winked at her as they walked further down the hall, never once moving his arm.


	5. Stomach Bug

** Anonymous prompt: F****elicity telling oliver she's pregnant**

**AN: Thank you all for following this story and taking the time to leave some wonderful feedback!**

"Pull it together, Smoak," Felicity told herself as she stared at her pale reflection in the bathroom mirror. "I mean Queen." She corrected. "Great, now I'm talking to myself."

Felicity let out a sigh of frustration before feeling the familiar rumble in her stomach. For two weeks she had been ignoring the flu like symptoms as the virus had been going around the office. Oliver made her stay home from work the day before and scheduled her doctor's appointment when the virus had not begun to clear up.

Oliver waited patiently while the doctor poked and prodded, taking blood to look for any elevated abnormalities. She didn't have a fever so her doctor told her she was clear to go. Probably just a stubborn stomach bug, he told her.

When the doctor's office called with her results only a few minutes prior Felicity had been shocked.

Pregnant.

That just wasn't possible. Sure, she and Oliver had a very healthy sexual appetite, but they were pretty thorough when it came to the birth control department. Prior to their engagement they discussed what babies would mean in their line of work.

While they were interested in having a family in the future they agreed that the present day was just not the right time.

Felicity turned to place her hands on the marble counter top of her en-suite bathroom, bracing herself as she processed this information. Of course her doctor had to call while she was at work and waiting for Oliver to bring her lunch.

The gentle wrapping of knocks on her bathroom door caused Felicity to jump slightly, and also feel a little motion sick in the process.

"Felicity?" She heard Oliver's concerned voice on the other end of the door. "You ok?"

Great, she thought to herself, he was on time. She had been hoping that he would be at least a half hour late so she had some time to process the news before she had to tell him. Of course her habitually late husband would be on time today.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, and her sensitive stomach, she reached for the handle on the door. As much as she wanted, she couldn't hide in the bathroom all day. Oliver would probably end up breaking down the door if that was the avenue she chose.

When she opened the door she found Oliver leaning against the doorway with a concerned and pained expression written on his face. He reached for her before she was across the threshold and she let herself fold into his touch.

"Hey," he whispered as she turned into his chest, bringing his arms up to hold her closer. "Still not feeling good?"

Felicity just shook her head 'no' but didn't lift her head from where she had nestled it against his firm chest.

The prospect of having a baby wasn't scary. In fact she kind of liked the idea – A little boy or girl running around with a bow and arrow and the skill of a serious computer hacker. There was no denying that their child would be a force to be reckoned with.

She was more concerned with Oliver's reaction. This hadn't been planned and they still had a lot of work to do in the city.

"Maybe we should go back to the doctor's office," Oliver told her as he rubbed circles on her back. "This can't be a normal stomach bug."

Felicity clung to him tighter, feeling her heart swell with his concern. He was going to be a wonderful father and that thought filled her with excitement. She couldn't wait to see Oliver hold their baby for the first time and see the wonder on his face.

"We don't need to go back," she mumbled against his chest before tipping her chin to meet his questioning eyes. "They called a few minutes ago."

Oliver's gaze went from curious to worried as he shifted his stance so that he was still holding her shoulders but further away. It was the stance he took when he was preparing for a fight. Only this time the fight would be against dirty diapers and two am feedings.

"Felicity," he drew out in a breath, not breaking their eye contact.

"Turns out, I'm ok," she told him with a small, unsure smile.

"Then how come your face looks like that?" He asked with skepticism in his voice. He had known her long enough to know when she was trying to hide something.

Felicity took a step back at his tone. "How come my face looks like what?"

Oliver let his hands drop from her shoulders as he folded them across his chest. "You have your 'about to hack' face." He quoted to her. "Which, depending on the situation, I wouldn't question, but you have been "hacking" a lot, lately."

Felicity winced as she brought a hand up to her forehead at his use of words and quotations.

"Felicity, come on," he told her in a soft tone. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong, per se." She paused as he stared at her expectantly. "I just got off the phone with the doctor's office and they told me that I'm pregnant. We're pregnant … You know I've never really understood that saying, because technically the baby is in my body, not yours, but that's totally not relevant right now." She trailed off as she saw the smile on Oliver's face begin to form.

"You're serious?" He asked with controlled excitement in his voice, bringing a smile to her lips. "We're really …?" He stopped as he gestured to her stomach.

"Oh yeah," Felicity nodded as she glanced down to her still flat abdomen. "Blood tests and extreme nausea don't lie, my friend."

Oliver laughed as he took a tentative step towards her to place his hand on her hips. "We're going to be parents."

Felicity returned his almost childlike smile with a nod. "So you're ok with this?"

Oliver gave a small chuckle before bringing a hand to caress her check.

"I'm more than ok," he told her earnestly before letting his lips brush against hers.

"Good," she told him as they separated slightly. "Now, what did you bring me for lunch? I'm starving."

She couldn't help but smile as Oliver get out a laugh before pulling her back in for another kiss.


	6. Post-It Notes

**Anonymus prompt:_ Ok so I have a Olicity prompt what about Felicity leaves the foundry early and leaves a post it note on her computers telling them to start the program with the arrow keys but Oliver and Diggle decided to drink that night and read the note wrong and Oliver puts an arrow threw the screen. I seen this on a fan art someone posted on SA's Facebook page :)_**

The shrill trilling of his cell phone is what woke Diggle that morning. Normally the sounds of Sara cooing over the monitor next to his side of the bed were what greeted him, but not this morning. It took Diggle a minute to realize where he was after observing the slight hint of stale air and fluorescent lights overhead – The Foundry.

It took Diggle another minute to remember why he was waking up on the training mats in Verdant's basement with a massive headache instead of in his bed with Lyla beside him.

Lyla had wanted a mommy-daughter night with Sara the evening prior, which did not include daddy. Diggle understood why Lyla wanted to spend quality time with their daughter, especially with all the hours she had to put in at A.R.G.U.S. lately. A night to bond with their baby girl was something he definitely understood her needing.

At Lyla's urging, he had gone to the Foundry with hopes of finding something to do to pass the time until he could go home with his girls again.

That was when he found Oliver in the middle of a round of target practice.

"Are you going to get that?" Diggle turned his head, shaking off the memory, to where Oliver was hunched over. He looked about as good as Diggle felt, which wasn't good.

Diggle shifted to pull his cell phone free from his pants pocket, a picture of baby Sara flashing on the screen.

"Hey baby," Diggle answered into the receiver, surprised at the sound of his own voice. His voice sounded low and strained to his own ears. "Is everything ok?"

To his delight he could hear the gentle coos of his daughter over the other end and a small chuckle from Lyla. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"What?" Diggle tried to sit up a little straighter, noticing for the first time what the lair looked like. There were arrows, large and small, scattered along the floor among over a dozen tennis balls. "Why wouldn't I be ok?" Diggle asked as he tried to keep the confusion out of his voice.

"Well, you and Oliver called around midnight and you sounded like you were having an eventful night." Lyla sounded amused which led Dig to wonder just how that phone call went. "You also mentioned that you and Oliver were having a boys night complete with slurred words, so I'm assuming there was some alcohol involved."

At her words his memory of the previous night began to return. He remembered going to the foundry to see if he could help Oliver get a lead on Sara's killer, but finding Oliver thoroughly engrossed in putting arrows into tennis balls. He remembered Oliver telling Diggle that Felicity left early to go work on a project with _Dr. Palmer_, and seeing the distressed look on Oliver's face at the thought. Diggle then remembered opening a bottle of whiskey and then a bottle of bourbon.

"Wow, you really don't remember? What happened after we hung up last night?" Lyla asked after not receiving a response from Diggle.

Diggle brought a hand to his forehead, hoping that maybe he could rub some of the tension out from behind his eyes and that is when he saw it. Felicity's brand new computer, skewered with a green arrow.

"Oh no … Babe I'm gonna have to call you back," Diggle told her before hanging up, not taking his eyes off of the computer. Felicity was going to kill them. "Oliver," Diggle called out.

Dig stood up swiftly, taking a deep breath to help find his equilibrium in the process. How much had they had to drink last night? Oliver still hadn't moved from his spot where he sat on his bed. His head was in his hands and both forearms rested on his knees. Neither man was a drinker these days, so it probably didn't take much.

But Diggle didn't think that either of them, drunk or sober, would go near Felicity's computers.

"Oliver, man, get up." Diggle nudged his friend as he performed a visual sweep of the room to assess the damage. It wasn't too bad, with the exception of the computer.

"What, Dig?" Oliver moaned without lifting his head. "I think we drank too much last night."

"There's an arrow in Felicity's computer," Diggle told him in short. It was a Sunday, which meant that Felicity would have the day off of work to come in and update her searches. They didn't have much time to fix this.

Oliver's head sprung up at the mention of Felicity. "What?" Oliver's eyes shifted to the computer before he brought a hand up to cover his mouth. "How did we-?"

Diggle shook his head as he brought his hands up to his head. "My memory is fuzzy at best, but I do _not_ remember that."

Oliver rose to his feet to assess the damage, as Diggle had done moments ago. Both men walked to get a better view of the computer. The screen looked even worse from the front – spider-web cracks formed around the perimeter of the arrow, all shooting off in different directions.

"She's going to kill us," Oliver murmured quietly. "How did we do this?" He asked as he turned to Diggle, both their hangovers fading into the background.

Diggle shook his head as he tried to piece last night together. "I have no idea. … Maybe target practice?"

"Felicity's computer?" Oliver deadpanned. "When she left last night she did leave a note to run one of her searches, but I don't remember shooting it with an arrow."

Diggle frowned as he picked up the pink post-it note that was affixed to the now ruined computer. The note held specific, step-by-step instructions for what needed to be done. _So easy an idiot could do it_, as she liked to say. She even drew little arrows to emphasize what key should be pressed to accomplish their goal.

"Wait." Diggle paused as he brought the note to Oliver's view. "The arrow keys, she drew arrows for the keys so you knew which ones to press."

Oliver looked at Diggle, clearly not understanding his point.

"Do you think it's possible that when we read this, we were drunk enough to think she meant 'arrow' instead of what key to use?" Diggle asked before muttering. "I never thought I'd utter that sentence ever."

Oliver looked from the note to the computer and then back to Diggle, seemingly trying to process what Diggle just said.

"No, we wouldn't – This doesn't sound like-," Oliver paused, his right hand raised in front of his chin, his fingers rubbing with tension. "Felicity's going to kill us." He exhaled.

"Why is Felicity going to kill you?" Both men spun at the sound of Felicity's voice as she descended the stairs with Roy in tow. "I mean me. Why am I going to kill you?"

Oliver looked to Dig as they both took a small step together to block her view of the computer. Roy shot them both a confused glance, raising one eyebrow in question.

"Hmm?" Oliver murmured as he pursed his lips.

"What are you guys doing?" Felicity asked with a laugh as she noted both men standing so close together, Diggle with his hands behind his back and Oliver's clasped in front. "You're acting weird."

"I'm hungry," Diggle announced. "Are you two hungry?" He gestured to Felicity and Roy.

"I'm hungry too," Oliver agreed, shifting only his head to look at Diggle. "Why don't we all go out for breakfast?"

"It's noon," Roy told them.

"What is with you guys?" Felicity asked as she raised her brows is confusion.

"Whoa," Roy sounded off from behind Felicity as he approached the glass case that held Oliver's leathers, and an empty bottle of Jack Daniel's Whiskey. "Since when are we allowed to drink in the lair? And what happened to all the arrows and tennis balls?"

Felicity looked between Roy holding an empty of whiskey and Oliver and Diggle, who still hadn't moved from their spots. "We don't drink in the lair because of all the pointy objects we have lying around."

Oliver glanced to Diggle who stood stock still. Felicity's face seemed to be reddening as they watched her eyes close and her shoulders tense.

"Guys, why are you standing in front of my computer?" She asked slowly, drawing out each word carefully. It was almost as if she knew what was behind them.

Diggle observed Roy lean back against the table, a satisfied smirk on his face. Diggle would pay him back for that look later.

"Move," Felicity told them in a louder than normal voice.

She didn't need to tell them twice as both men side-stepped, leaving her computer in view. Diggle winced as Felicity's mouth fell open in shock and she took a step forward.

"How-? What-?" Felicity looked between the two men who shifted in their spots while she lifted her arm to point at her computer. "How?!"

Diggle looked to Oliver to field the response.

"We," Oliver paused to clear his throat. "We tried to run your search using the, uh, arrow key." Oliver told her as he held out the post-it note for her view.

Diggle didn't think it was possible for Felicity's face to get any redder, but it did. She was _definitely_ going to kill them.

"See." Roy's voice broke through the tension. "Kind of puts the whole me using your computer for twitter thing into perspective, huh?"

Dig didn't have to look at the others to know that they were all shooting Roy the same irritated expression.


	7. Awkward

**PROMPT: ****Olicity - First time - Awkward + Funny. I can picture Oliver trying to shut her up. Felicity being all awkward but Oliver finding it so cute.**

_Well this was certainly unexpected,_ Felicity couldn't help thinking as Oliver Queen pushed her up against the front door to her apartment while he gently bit and licked the side of her neck. _Definitely unexpected._

She could have sworn that only a minute ago she had been in the foundry with Oliver offering to drive her home.

It had been a long day, and a longer night, and she was too tired to drive. Oliver had been working to 'woo' her, as Roy liked to call it. She had been secretly giddy when he would show up with lunch every day and bring her a special latte that only he knew she liked.

He was asking her how her day was, again, and their conversations had become less stilted. They were beginning to move forward after months of keeping each other at arms length, slowly.

Oliver had even begun to make trips to Felicity's apartment on the weekends to watch movies and TV Shows or taking her on a stroll through the park. Oliver had even let it slip one time to Thea that they were past the 'woo-ing' and into the full blown dating portion of their relationship which had prompted a long conversation about their relationship status and hero status.

When Oliver reached the curb of her house she groaned, having almost been asleep in the front seat. She didn't think to ask why he was driving her car, or how he was planning to get home. As Felicity turned in her seat to face him, she felt a smile bloom on her lips at the sight of a content Oliver staring at her.

He placed a warm hand on her cheek, with gentleness that some didn't think the Arrow had, before leaning closer to place his soft, tender lips against her own.

She hadn't realized how much she wanted him to kiss her until he actually was. His tongue danced along her lips, asking her permission to move further.  
>Felicity felt, with a strange burning desire, that she usually kept under wraps save for inappropriate comments, as though the only thing she needed was to be closer to him. She needed to feel him.<p>

Trying to be as graceful as possible, in her mini-cooper, she tried to maneuver herself onto Oliver's lap.

It wasn't as easy as she thought it would be, not that she thought it would be easy. Using the base of Oliver's neck and his opposite shoulder as leverage, Felicity tried to propel herself onto his lap.

The only problem being that the steering wheel was already pretty tight against his knees – Oliver was apparently too big for her car – and they were already quite close.

The force behind her propelled Felicity straight into the steering wheel, and the car horn in the process, while her hold on Oliver brought him closer to her but also caused him to knee the steering column with one knee and shift his hip into the gear shift with the other.

"Ow," Felicity yelped while Oliver leaned back against the window, rubbing his knee. "Oh god, I'm so sorry," Felicity told him as she smoothed a hand over his face before moving her hand to his knee.

"Felicity," Oliver gritted out as she began to rub her hand over his knee. "If you don't stop doing that I'm not going to make it out of the car."

Felicity halted her movements in confusion before looking down at where her hand was placed as realization dawned lit up her eyes.

"Oh god, no, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, you know," she pulled her hand away and gestured in circles at his chest. "I mean, I wanted to – but I didn't mean to hurt you," Felicity closed her eyes and ran a hand over her head. "Not that I hurt you in like a 'rough sex' kind of way, because we aren't having sex, Oh my god, please stop me." She groaned out with closed eyes.

"Hey," Oliver halted her as he reached for the hand that was wringing her hair in frustration. "No harm done."

"You're sure?" She asked as she glanced down to the crotch of his jeans as he flashed her a comforting smile before pulling her closer again. "Ow!"

Oliver pulled back to see her face at her yelp.

"What?" He asked as she glanced down at the seat belt buckle below her thigh.

"I don't think this car is the perfect venue for what we are trying to do," she told him but stopped at the surprised look on his face. "Not that I think we were planning on doing anything, I was not planning anything for tonight." Oliver cocked his head to this side as he tried to hold back a teasing smile.

"Not that planning anything would be a bad thing, I mean it is awfully fast," she babbled while sitting back in her seat, but leaving one hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Not like, The Flash fast, but still-" Felicity paused with a wince. "Probably not the best time to bring up Barry."

"Nope, probably not," Oliver agreed with nod and an awkward laugh, but kept his eyes on her.

"Even so, Barry and I never really dated," Felicity told him with a shrug. "It would be more awkward if I mentioned-"

Felicity never did get to finish that sentence as Oliver leaned forward again to close the distance between them. With both hands cupping her face gently, Oliver ended her ramble with a soft, light kiss to her lips before deepening it once more.

His hands moved from her face to her hair before sliding down her shoulders and arms, loving the feel of her smooth skin beneath his fingertips.

As he pulled away, hoping to at least move this into her house so that they could change position, he couldn't help but tease her top lip gently between his teeth.

"Wow," Felicity murmured with her eyes still closed. "Did anyone ever tell you that you are really good at that? I mean I'm sure someone has told-"

Felicity stopped talking as Oliver's index finger came up to cover her lips, although he had a light smile on his lips.

"While I normally love listening to you talk and babble," he told her in a low whisper. "I have a feeling that this conversation is heading for seriously awkward territory. So before I have to keep stopping you with kisses, which I don't mind doing, just know that we don't have to do anything you don't want to do if you are not sure."

Felicity nodded which Oliver returned in kind.

"Now, we can continue making out in the car or we can make out on your couch," he told her softly as he ran a hand up and down her arm in a soothing motion.

"Or we could continue this in my bedroom, which sounds incredibly cheesy." Felicity closed her eyes as she drew a hand through her loose hair, causing Oliver to draw in a sharp breath.

Without waiting for Oliver to continue, she pushed open the door and began her way up the walk to her front door. She heard Oliver close the car door before locking it.

Felicity knew he was behind her and wondered what he was thinking. She hadn't expected Oliver driving her home to lead to this. It seemed fast, but at the same time it didn't – like they had been waiting too long.

She almost made it to her door when she felt Oliver grab her hand and pull her back towards him. She turned to face him and saw his eyes begin to darken with lust, but the smile on his face was comforting, more loving.

Felicity let out a squeak as Oliver gripped her hips and pulled her closer to him, grinding their hips together in the process.

"How's this for platonic circumstances?" Oliver murmured against her lips, recalling a long distant memory of an elevator shaft.

Before Felicity could respond, Oliver had her pinned against the door to her apartment and was beginning to kiss and nip his way down her neck, causing her to drop her head back against the door in pleasure.

This was definitely not how she expected to finish her night, but it was well worth it.


	8. No Secrets

**Olicity Prompt? Oliver finds out that he worked with Felicity's dad in ARGUS and knows why he never came home. He knows it will be better to come from him but doesn't know how to tell her or how she'll respond.**

_Thank you everyone for reviewing and following this story. It means a lot. I'm trying to get this version of the story to match with the AO3 and Tumblr side so it is going pretty quickly. Thank you!_

When he woke up the first thing he noticed was that her side of the bed was empty. Normally Oliver would wake up before Felicity and watch her sleep for at least a half hour before getting out of bed to make her coffee. She would do her morning workout while he showered, and once they were both finished they would sit down to a small breakfast.

Oliver had come to cherish their routine as the one normal thing they did in their hectic world.

Waking up to find Felicity missing from her side of the bed was not a normal way for Oliver to start his morning. As he glanced over at the clock on the bedside he noted it was only four am. They had a late night and made it home closer to two. Both had been asleep as soon as they sat on the bed, having only enough energy to strip out of their clothes before sleep claimed them.

Moving to a seated position he placed his bare feet to the floor, listening for any sign of Felicity in the house.

Not bothering with the t-shirt he had worn the night before, Oliver padded his way to the living room in only his boxer briefs to find his girlfriend sitting on the floor with her legs tucked beneath her and wearing one of his gray t-shirts. Felicity had only turned on one of the lamps, leaving the rest of the house shrouded in darkness as she sat with her back against the sofa and a pile of old photographs on her lap.

"Hey," he murmured as he drew closer to see what the photographs were of.

Felicity jumped where she sat, dropping the pictures as her hand went to her chest.

"Geez! Warn a girl," Felicity chastised as she shifted on her knees. "We need to get you a bell or something."

Oliver gave a small, sly grin as he crouched down next to her. "What are you looking at?"

The photographs were older and had a small child in them. The little girl had braided, black pigtails with a pink tutu and tiara on her head while she stood in front of a much younger Donna Smoak. Well, Donna didn't really look that much younger, which he was sure she would just love to hear.

"Is that you?" He asked as he tried to keep the shock out of his voice.

Felicity had said she dyed her hair, he just never knew what the original color was. Oliver couldn't imagine Felicity with black hair. Not after he saw her next to her mother, who Felicity resembled more that she liked to admit.

"Yep," she told him as he took a seat on the floor behind her, gently sliding forward so that he would wrap an arm around her waist and kiss her shoulder. "I was about … four, I think."

Oliver nodded as he stared at the younger Felicity. He wondered what it would have been like to know her then.

"My mom sent this box full of photographs and old class projects," Felicity told him as she reached into the box to pull out an old drawing of a man with glasses sitting at a computer. "I drew that for my dad in kindergarten because he was always working. He gave me my first lesson on how to build a computer when I gave it to him."

Oliver smiled into Felicity's shoulder. "So what you're saying is that you were remarkable even then?"

Felicity laughed as she placed a hand on the arm that was wrapped around her waist.

"Well, I did have an exceptionally high IQ," she told him as she turned her head to meet his lips. "What were you like as a child?" She asked once they separated.

"Energetic." He described, causing her to laugh.

It felt nice to share this part of her childhood with him. In some ways, Oliver knew that the group spent so much time on his life and his mission that he didn't know enough about Felicity's history – Not the way that he should.

"Oh wow," Felicity tensed in his hold as she pulled another photo from the box. "It's a picture of my father."

Oliver scooted closer to see the picture. He only knew what Felicity had told him which had been that her father left when she was very young and she didn't remember that much about him. She never talked about him either. Once the team met Donna, Felicity would always turn up with some dramatic exploit of her mother's. It was nice to see Felicity be loved. It was all he wanted for her.

As soon as his eyes landed on the photo he recognized the man Felicity had pointed out as her father. The picture had been taken a while ago, years before Oliver knew him.

Oliver closed his eyes as the memories assaulted him of the man he had been charged with protecting one night while in Hong Kong. The man had been a physicist, and Oliver had reached the point in his training where he didn't ask questions.

He must have tensed behind her, or made a noise at the recognition, because Felicity had turned her head to ask him what was wrong. Oliver knew that being with Felicity meant having his walls down. It also meant no secrets and no hiding things from each other.

Oliver couldn't hold onto this secret, not when he knew what it felt like to lose a parent and not have all the answers. When his father gave his own life to save Oliver's, he hadn't known what he needed to do or what had happened to lead up to that moment. Oliver hadn't known his father's involvement with Malcolm Merlyn, or the potential destruction of the Glades.

Those realizations had changed Oliver and had given him purpose. He was also alone and fighting for his life on a daily basis when he had learned the truth. He didn't want that for Felicity.

He didn't want this to come back to haunt her, or hurt her. Not the way his father's secrets had come for him. Oliver didn't want this to catch her off guard, and he didn't want to lie to her.

There would never be a perfect moment, but sitting on the floor of her living room, wrapped in the arms of the man who loved her more than his own life, was as close he could think of. He only hoped that she would see it that way.

And with time she could find peace with the information he was about to give her.

"Oliver?" Felicity questioned as she tried to shift from her position to face him. "What is it?"

Oliver took a deep breath before taking her hands in his, not letting the picture leave their joined hands.

"When I was in Hong Kong … When I was working for A.R.G.U.S. … I met." Oliver paused to glance once more at Felicity. "I met the man in that picture. It was right before I found Anatoly again."

Felicity glanced down at the photograph in confusion before looking back at Oliver. It was good, he thought, that she hadn't let go of his hands yet.

"How is that possible?" Felicity asked before realization seemed to fill her eyes. "It's ok," she told him quickly as her eyes began to fill with tears. "It's ok."

Now it was Oliver's turn to be confused. Felicity seemed to have connected something that he didn't understand as she moved closer to him so that she was nearly in his lap, her arms moving to wrap around his neck.

"I'm sorry," she murmured into his neck.

"Why are you sorry?" Oliver asked as he pulled her far enough away so that he could see her tear-stained face. "What do you think happened?"

"Well when you were working for Waller you were starting to-" She paused as she looked to the floor. "Kill people."

"Oh god, you think," He murmured. "You think I killed your father."

"You didn't? Because if you did it's ok, I mean it's not OK but I understand." She paused to take a breath. "Waller had you doing things and it was hell for you. You didn't know who he was, I mean I don't even know who he was. He could have worked for the League of Assassins or some other super creepy evil agency that we haven't met yet-"

"He wasn't," Oliver cut her off. "Your father was an asset to A.R.G.U.S. and Waller. I spent twenty-four hours protecting him until he could be moved to a secure facility."

"Wait, I'm confused." Felicity cocked her head in response.

"Your father was a nuclear physicist who was developing some sort of technology for Waller." He paused at Felicity's nod. "Apparently the work he was doing was sought after by a lot of people who would have used it for the wrong reasons. I was put in charge of protecting your father before they moved him to a secure facility in Greece."

"So my dad worked for A.R.G.U.S.?" Felicity stopped herself as she brought a hand up to run through her hair in frustration while the other squeezed Oliver's large, calloused hand.

"He missed you, Felicity." Oliver wasn't sure if he should tell her any of this or not. "He missed you and your mother every day. He told me how he had a genius daughter and a beautiful wife at home and his one regret was leaving you both. I didn't ask him any questions about his work or his family. I didn't know who he was when I met you. I promise you that."

"I know. I trust you, but," she paused as she wiped a tear from her cheek. "He still left us,"

"I know." Oliver brought a hand up to wipe another stray tear from Felicity's other cheek. He hated that he was the one who was hurting her with this information, but he knew how much pain lies would bring.

"You said it was right before you met Anatoly again." Felicity pulled back. "What happened?"

Oliver closed his eyes as he recounted the memory. "While we were making the switch and your father was getting in the car with his new guards we came under fire. Everything happened so fast that I didn't see it, but the car he was in exploded."

"Oh," she murmured before taking in a shuddering breath.

"Felicity, I am so sorry. I am so sorry that I failed you." He tried to pull her closer, and while she was not pushing him away she seemed to go limp in his arms. "After that night I couldn't handle it anymore. Waller wouldn't tell us anything and she was putting civilians in the line of fire. When I found Anatoly he offered me a way out."

"Bratva." She finished for him in a hushed tone

"Yeah," Oliver whispered as he turned to glance out the living room window. "I'm sorry but there's more."

"More than the truth bomb you just unloaded," Felicity tried to joke and Oliver could see the exhaustion in her eyes begin to set in. "Sorry, bad timing."

"Your father's body was never recovered after the explosion," he told her slowly before glancing down at their entangled hands and legs. "Waller listed him as missing in action." He pushed forward. If he had to tell her what happened he wanted to make sure that she knew everything.

"So my father may still be alive." Felicity's sad voice caused him to look back. "I love you, and it is not your fault." Oliver dipped his head at her words, but she kept going. "I know that you are probably thinking that you just hurt me by telling me this, but as much as it sucks now … It would have sucked worse if you hadn't told me."

"No secrets," he whispered over the lump in his throat, bringing a small sad smile to her face.

"No secrets." She confirmed before taking his hand and pulling him into her arms.


	9. Back

_**Katraya1 prompted: Olicity prompt: Oliver is asked to join the LoA under the impression that he isnt needed in Star City anymore. The Atom/Ray is doing a pretty good job with Roy in fighting crime and Oliver cant stand to see Felicity happy with someone who isnt him, so he thinks distance will fix the tension/heartbreak. Felicity learns this and begs him not to go. A heated argument happens. sidenote: Digg is on break because Sara and Lyla need him.**_

_AN: **This was written before 3x09 aired.** Thank you so much, katraya1 for this wonderful prompt! All these ideas have been literally dancing around in my head since I got it. I do hope you enjoy it as the prompt took me in a different direction than I think you intended for it to go.I struggled with Oliver's motivation, and internal struggle, for leaving while sticking with prompt so I hope that there is some buy in and he's not too OOC. I'd love to hear what you all think._

Warning: Mild Swearing

* * *

><p>He almost didn't recognize the city as he took his first steps onto the dock. The journey from Nanda Parbat was smooth and easy, a complete contradiction to his initial descent into the demon's territory.<p>

After one grueling year of fighting for his life in the League of Assassins, while holding on to his humanity, Oliver was finally released.

He couldn't explain it, and he didn't want to doubt the gift he had been given, but Ra's al Ghul had let him leave. Ra's explained to Oliver that while his freedom was a gift, the League would never be far away – always watching and always waiting. This made Oliver wonder if it really was a gift, or maybe a warning.

Nyssa had given him a courteous bow, something he knew her to only do out of respect for her father, not for Oliver. After a year of going head to head with the heir to the demon, Oliver was grateful to finally be going home and getting the hell away from her.

"Mr. Queen," Oliver let the corners of his mouth lift in a smile as he approached John Diggle, who was standing at the base of the stairs ahead.

"John," Oliver whispered as he grew closer. He had phoned him earlier that morning with a proposed time of arrival into Starling and the hope that John would be there to greet him.

The last time Oliver saw John had been the night he left Starling, the night he gave himself to Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins. Ra's first attempt to seduce Oliver with dreams of power and riches had failed but the thoughts he planted about an Arrow-less Starling and threats he placed against those he loved won out.

Starling had been safe. The Atom was working in tandem with Arsenal while Felicity ran support. They were becoming a machine while he and John focused on finding Sara's killer, their leads running cold.

Oliver had neglected his city for vengeance and gave the enemy the opportunity to blow a whole right through it all. Oliver's freedom was a small price to pay to keep Starling safe, the way it should be – with him out of the way.

"Man," John said with a shake of his head. "It has been way too long."

Oliver returned the smile before pulling his friend into an embrace. Human contact was good, he reminded himself. It helped bring Oliver's humanity back the last time he returned from hell – human contact, John Diggle, and Felicity Smoak.

"I need to see her," Oliver told him as he pulled away from Diggle.

Diggle folded his arms across his chest with a disapproving tone to his stare as Dig knew who 'she' was. Something in his friend's eyes told Oliver that seeing Felicity now wouldn't be the best idea. He didn't blame Dig for thinking that. Felicity and Oliver did have the fight to end all fights before he left.

She begged him to stay, practically pleaded with him. She had tried to bargain with him, screamed at him, stopped short at throwing things at him, but in the end he left anyway.

_"So you're just going to leave?" She asked with tears breaking through her anger. "What happened to dying down here?" She asked with spite mixed into her tears. "Isn't that death good enough for you now? You would at least be surrounded by the people who love you." When he refused to look up from his spot on the cement floor she tried again, this time with only sadness in her voice. "Why are you doing this? Why are you leaving?" Why are you leaving me – were the words she couldn't let herself say, but desperately wanted to._

_"Felicity." One word, one name, and Oliver could convey so much meaning._

_"No, don't Felicity me," She demanded, hitting her hand off of the cool metal desk in front of her. "You promised me that you wouldn't leave, you promised me that I wouldn't lose you."_

_He tried to reassure her, tell her that no matter where he went he would always be with her. He wanted to tell her that as long as she was alive, then he would be with her. He wanted to pull her close and whisper words of love and longing that he should have said long before that moment._

_None of it worked though. His words meant nothing as she gave him a solid push against his chest, freeing herself from his hold, before turning to run out of the lair, holding her breath as she went._

_His words didn't mean anything because he was breaking his promise. He was handing himself over to Ra's al Ghul, and he would never come back._

He knew that coming home wouldn't be easy, especially when it came to Felicity. He had never seen her look so devastated as when he told her he was leaving. It was as if the words were puncturing her, making it difficult for her to breathe, with each syllable he spoke.

He did that to her.

He hurt her by leaving of his own free will.

Sure there was a threat hanging over his head, and the lives of those he loved, but he could have fought. He could have tried harder than a 'yes' and a sign on the dotted line, so to speak. Oliver Queen didn't have to leave. That thought was his only regret through the year away. That doubt that came in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep.

"I'm not sure that seeing her now is such a good idea," Diggle said as he glanced down to the wooden boards of the dock below his feet. "Why don't we just head back to the lair and then we can get you settled?"

"You guys still have the lair?" Oliver asked in surprise.

He knew that Ray and Roy had been picking up his slack, but he imagined Ray wanting a nicer venue for his crime fighting escapade. Something brighter than a basement.

"Yeah we do." Diggle smiled. "And it has gotten a bit crowded since you left."

Oliver held his comment back as he followed John to the car unsure of what he meant. All Oliver was sure of was that Felicity should be there, she was always there.

* * *

><p>Five glass cases stood tall at the base of the stairs, lining the path to the training mats. Only one case still had a uniform inside while the others were empty – all that was left were his green hood and leathers.<p>

The weapons cases had expanded to line both walls, arrows, night sticks, brass knuckles, and even more weapons than had ever been there before.

The med bay had expanded as well. It looked like a portable x-ray machine – the one Felicity always insisted that they needed – along with several other portable devices that he was sure did something to assist in the patch jobs and life saving measures that took place.

Other than the expansion and slight modifications, the lair looked the same. It was though he never left.

"The others should be back soon," Diggle voiced behind him. "Why don't you take a seat while we wait?"

Oliver turned to face his friend as his eyes continued to commit the new lair to memory. For all the improvements, and things that stayed the same, there was something that was missing.

"Where's Felicity?" Oliver asked, noticing her absence at the computer desk.

"She's home," Diggle told him simply before moving to the desk she used to occupy. "A lot has changed since you left. A lot."

"Like what?" Oliver asked, frustrated that information was being kept from him. "What happened to her, John?"

Diggle gave a weary sigh before taking in a sharp breath of air.

"After you left … Felicity sort of, blamed herself." He paused, knowing the pain that these words were about to bring for his friend. "She thought that your fight before you left was part of the reason for you leaving, and she felt like she had been pushing you away by dating Ray and by helping him and Roy instead of us."

Oliver frowned as he began to lean against the workbench behind him. She blamed herself?

"I guess you could say that she threw herself into work during the day and then came here at night to help," Diggle said with a glance over his shoulder at her former desk. "But we could all see that she was fraying along the edges."

"What happened?" Oliver asked hesitantly. He needed to know what he had done, what he was responsible for.

"We tried to talk to her, we tried to reason with her, that this wasn't her fault." Diggle ran a hand over his eyes as he tried to school the pain Oliver saw forming. "She just didn't believe us. She kept saying how if she fought harder you would have stayed."

"Dig," Oliver whispered over the lump in his throat.

"I know," Diggle told him with sympathy lacing his voice. "We all knew it wasn't true. Felicity knew too, she just … she took on a lot of blame and hurt." Oliver hadn't meant for that to happen. He thought that they would have been better off. "She would eat just enough to get by and barely slept. There were more than a few nights that one of us had to carry her out of here and get her home."

"When did this all happen?" Oliver asked as he shifted his position.

"It came to a head about six months ago," Diggle told him wearily.

"Six months?" Oliver asked unable to contain his shock.

"One night she was leaving later than she should have been." Diggle began. "Roy or I should have walked her but she ducked out while we were cleaning up … This guy jumped out from around a corner, took her purse and her keys. He didn't hurt her, just scared her, but she didn't come back after that."

"So no one has seen her in six months?" Oliver asked, feeling the swell of anger in his chest. Had no one fought for her?

"No we still see her." He guaranteed. "Laurel checks in with her every couple days, Roy takes her for lunch every other Saturday, and Lyla and I had her over for dinner just last night." Diggle assured him. "She even visits her friends in Central City every couple months."

"What about Ray?" Oliver asked hesitantly. He wasn't really sure he wanted to know the answer.

"She uh, she ended things with Ray about a week after you left. He stuck around for two months after that, I'll give him credit, but last I heard he was headed for Central City to meet up with Barry and his team." Diggle told him as he crossed his arms across his chest. "I think he got side tracked and bought a company in New York or somewhere."

So much had happened in that one year. Everything changed and Oliver was having a difficult time understanding. Felicity wouldn't have just walked away, it wasn't in her to give up.

"So Felicity just … quit?"

"She didn't just quit." Diggle told him in a sharp tone, like he was scolding Oliver for the thought. "What Felicity was doing was unhealthy. She kept pretending that she was ok, but she was becoming obsessed with finding you." Diggle worked to control his voice and his emotions as he explained. "All those nights she spent down here were spent tracking you. She was running herself into the ground. When she made the decision not to come back here, we were all happy for her."

Oliver stopped his response as he let Diggle's words sink in. "Who is 'we'?"

"Yeah, uh, after you left we needed help picking up the slack." Diggle's voice calmed a little as he took a step back, glancing at the empty cases. "Laurel and Ted offered to pitch in and protect the city with Roy while I started running the computers." Oliver watched as his lips curved into a smile. "I'm not nearly as good as Felicity but I've only needed to watch security cameras and track their whereabouts so far."

Oliver glanced over at the cases – he counted five, four empty. "Who's the extra case for?"

Oliver watched as Diggle paused, taking in a breath as he did. "Before we knew it we had another vigilante wannabe roaming the streets. We picked her up one night and found out that … Thea had a few secrets of her own."

"What?" Oliver pushed himself off the table he had been leaning against in shock. His sister? His baby sister who wasn't supposed to go near any of this?

"Don't worry." Diggle did his best to keep his voice even again. "We only let her do minimal recon work with Ted, nothing major." Diggle assured, as if that made it all better.

"I leave and you all lose your minds?" Oliver asked, a little harsher than he intended. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean … You were all supposed to be safe."

"And we are." Diggle assured him. "We're just keeping the city safe, too."

Oliver glanced around the room at the empty glass cases. This was his fault. When he left he thought he was doing the right thing. He thought that the city wouldn't need as much protecting. Starling was being rebuilt, stronger, by Palmer. It hadn't just faced a man-made earthquake or super soldiers, it was secure.

Oliver never imagined the destruction he would leave behind.

"I need some air."

Oliver didn't look back at Diggle as he turned to leave the foundry.

* * *

><p>The lights were off which meant she wasn't home, but that didn't stop him from waiting for her. The trip home was smooth, the seas even and calm, but his homecoming was the exact opposite.<p>

Thea was not supposed to get dragged into this and Laurel was supposed to have stayed away from this life. Palmer was supposed to stay and help Roy, he was supposed to protect Felicity and care for her the way Oliver couldn't.

None of this was supposed to happen.

Oliver knew he had been foolish to trust Ra's. The man was a master assassin – the demon.

He only cared for power and his own twisted sense of justice. Promising Oliver the safety of his city and the ones he loved had been one more way for him to gain more power and control. Starling couldn't survive the weight of the League of Assassins bearing down on them.

He still should have fought harder.

He heard the shuffling of her feet as she approached the stoop. She must not have been wearing her customary heels, he thought to himself.

"Oliver?" That voice, Felicity, she saw him. "It's you?"

He lifted his head to take her in for the first time in one year. One year lacking jumbled innuendos, arguments, hidden looks, forced smiles – One year lacking Felicity.

"I'm sorry." Was the only thing he could think to say at the moment.

There was so much he wanted to tell her, but for now those two words seemed to be all that could come out.

He remembered seeing Laurel for the first time when he returned from Lian Yu. He remembered the pain and anger he had caused her, and her subsequent reaction to it. Oliver never wanted to hurt those he loved yet he did it anyway. The thought that Felicity could be going through something similar to what he had done all those years ago made him feel ill.

Felicity stood in front of him, changed, but not really. Her hair was still a light shade of blonde, maybe an inch shorter. Her eyes still their vibrant shade of blue but now they held loss and anger which was unlike Felicity. She wore a trench coat that was wrapped tightly around her waist, covering what looked to be sweatpants, while her hair was curlier than he remembered it ever being. She didn't wear her glasses and he could see the faint markings of shadows beneath her eyes.

He had less than five seconds to take in that information before she dropped her small clutch and brown paper shopping bag to the ground. He wanted to ask her if she was ok, but before he could his arms were full of Felicity. Her hands gripped the base of his neck tightly, her small nails making crescent moons where her vice like grip began.

Once she was in his arms he felt himself let go of a breath that he had held the moment she said his name. He felt more at home holding Felicity in his arms than he had meeting Diggle at the docks or visiting the foundry. The thought was scary to have all your feelings of safety and security wrapped up in another person.

He felt himself relax into her embrace for the slightest of seconds before her hands moved to his chest, shoving him at least a foot backwards. She obviously had been working out as well.

"You bastard," she yelled at him.

"Felicity," he said her name like a prayer, fervently and hopeful. He hoped that his calm would rub off on her in that moment.

"You idiot." She charged him again, giving him a halfhearted shove. "How could you just leave?"

"Ra's threatened-" Oliver began but was cut off but a withering stare from Felicity.

"Oh knock it off Oliver." She took a step back to place both hands on her hips. "We both know that whatever he threatened you with, you were more than willing to leave."

The statement stung. Did she really think that?

"That's not true, and can we please take this inside?" He asked as he turned to glance at the lights turning on in two of the houses nearby. "I think we're waking up your neighbors."

"Fine," she replied with a defiant tilt of her head before turning to head back to her front door.

"Felicity, I didn't think I had a choice." Oliver tried as he bent to pick up her dropped items before moving to follow her.

"You always have a choice, Oliver," Felicity told him as she spun around to face him. "Always."

In that moment, her eyes flashing with untold hurt and pain, Oliver remembered their fight the night he left. She told him then that he had a choice … that he didn't have to go. She had always been the one to tell him that. Felicity never failed to encourage him when the odds were stacked against him. This time however, she didn't understand the magnitude of the choice he made.

"Once he asked me to come with him, I didn't." Oliver defended. "He would have destroyed the city and hurt the people I love, especially you."

Oliver watched as her eyes shifted to the beige carpet at her feet as he said the word love while looking directly at her. Oliver wasn't trying to hide his feelings, not anymore. If this past year taught him anything, it was that he didn't want to waste any more time away from Felicity or his feelings.

"It's not like the first time someone has attacked Starling, and it wouldn't be the last." She lifted her head, ignoring his statement. "We've proven that we are stronger. We were strong together, as a team. We could have fought this."

He didn't miss her use of the word we and the way her posture seemed to fold around itself as she brought her arms up to circle her chest. It was as if she was giving herself a hug, or protecting herself from him.

"At what cost?" He asked. "Your life? Diggle's? Roy's? Where would we have been when the dust cleared?"

"We all knew the risks when we signed up on 'Team Arrow,' we're not children that need to be protected." The sharp edge to her voice ignited a spark in him, a challenge. Why couldn't she just listen to him and let it go? "So I just invalidated your first excuse, please do give me another."

"Felicity?" He heard the exasperation in his own voice, but he knew better than to think she would stop pushing.

"Was it because of Ray and Roy?" She pushed. "Or was it because of Ray and me? Because I could have sworn that you were above jealousy, Oliver."

"It wasn't jealousy," he said, even though they both knew there was a little bit of a lie in his words.

"Really?" Felicity challenged. "Because the night that I had a work date with Ray you threw a tantrum in the lair and ruined about two hundred dollars' worth of supplies." Point taken, he thought to himself. "What was it Oliver? What could have possibly driven you into the League of Assassins arms?"

"None of you needed me, happy." He watched as her eyes began to fill and she drew in a deep breath. "Everyone was moving on, Roy, Diggle, Thea, you. Everyone was safe and happy and I wasn't needed." He looked to the floor as he remembered that night and what he had been feeling – the feeling of loss without having actually lost anything. "So instead of fighting Ra's when he came to town, I just went."

She didn't say anything, just stood, staring at him. The defeat he felt when he made the decision to leave was still evident in his mind. Oliver could still place himself back in that spot in the foundry, watching her type away as Ray and Roy stopped an armored truck heist on the other side of the city. He heard them joking and her laughing, and felt invisible.

But it had been more than that. Diggle was staying home more often with the hunt for Sara's killer running cold. Laurel wasn't speaking to him, and Thea was thoroughly entrenched in running Verdant. Crime rates were down to an unspeakable low, and it had been over a week since he had put on his hood.

After months of being the Arrow first and Oliver second, of walking the fine line in between the two, he couldn't remember what it meant to be just a man. In that moment he felt as though he lost his purpose.

"Well we're going to talk about you being on a first name basis with the ruler of all evil later, but seriously?" Felicity broke the silence, although her voice lacked its natural enthusiasm. "You thought none of us needed you?"

"Did you?" It was an honest question to which he only wanted an honest response.

"Yeah," she whispered as a few tears began to run down her cheeks. "John and Roy, they're like my brothers, but you … you're my best friend. There would never be a universe where I wouldn't need you."

Oliver didn't know how to respond. He wanted to tell her how he felt the same. He wanted to tell her how the entire time he was away he thought about her and how she was. There were so many countless nights where he just wanted to hear about her day.

Instead he settled on something safe, the present.

"Dig told me about you trying to find me, after …" He let his statement trail behind him as he gestured with one hand in a nonsensical motion.

"Yeah, I kind of went a little overboard." She smiled and shrugged, sniffling as she did. "I even created a 'murder board' to track your whereabouts. Dig didn't really approve of it so I had to stash it here." She motioned to her kitchen where the board was out of site.

He wondered what she had found, what she was looking for. They all knew where he went, she especially, but the specifics were another question for another time – right now he only needed to know one thing.

"You didn't, you didn't put yourself in danger, did you? Dig told me about the mugging," he asked, worried for the answer. If he knew that his leaving placed her in any undue danger he didn't know how he would feel about that.

"Oh that? Yeah some guy stole my purse, no big deal." She brushed it off as if it was nothing. "He wasn't going to hurt me, but that didn't stop Laurel from going all Black Canary on him the next night."

Felicity looked none the worse for wear, as if that incident was the least of her concerns.

"But you're ok?" He reiterated, not missing the point about Laurel – another subject that would have to wait until later.

"I'm fine, Oliver." She smiled, her tears having already begun to dry. "Are you ok? You just spent a year with the League of Assassins."

He tried to smile for her. The last thing he wanted at this moment was to burden her with what he had been through. "Yeah, I'm fine," was his response. There would be time enough later to talk about it.

"Any new scars?" She asked with a slight hint of fear in her voice at what must have happened to him.

"Only a few," he told her. "None that make a difference."

"But you're back?" She nodded along with her words. It was almost as if she didn't trust it.

"Yeah, I'm back." He told her, but meant it as a promise.

"Well do you want some ice cream and maybe to talk about it?" She asked as she gestured to the bag that now sat on her coffee table. "There's a pint of mint chocolate chip in the bag that I'd be willing to share."

"Yeah, I'd like that." He nodded. He would definitely like that.


	10. Two Drunk Idiots

**Olicity prompt: Who knew two drunk idiots would bring Oliver and Felicity closer?**

_**AN: Thank you all for your reviews and follows and favs! You're all awesome!**_

Oliver didn't realize what time it was until his phone began to ring on the edge of Felicity's desk. It was one of those rare Saturday nights where Starling was not under siege. Begrudgingly, Oliver had to admit that Palmer's new 'Star City' campaign was helping … only a little bit.

Roy had volunteered to take the late shift to patrol the Glades while Diggle and Felicity both had the night off. Diggle had wanted to have a romantic dinner with Lyla - an evening away from crime fighting and Amanda Waller. Oliver admired Dig for the balance he had in his life. John Diggle's life was a picture of what Oliver hoped to one day have.

Felicity had just wanted a night off – no explanation.

Oliver knew that Felicity was still upset with him for the way he had been acting lately. While their relationship had gotten better as of late, it still wasn't back to normal. He missed talking to her about her day or his, he missed hearing her babble out random innuendos without thinking, and he missed the way she would smile at his dry jokes.

Things had changed between them, but they were still able to work together. It was probably one of the most mature break ups that Oliver ever had. If what happened between them could be called a break up as they had only been on one disastrous date, shared one kiss and one backward 'I love you.'

Even so, Felicity was not here tonight, and Oliver was.

Alone.

When the phone rang, Oliver had been doing another round on the salmon ladder in hopes of working out some of the adrenaline he had been feeling. Letting his hold on the bar loosen, Oliver landed with ease and bended knees before walking the two feet to Felicity's desk. The caller was Diggle and the time was two in the morning – neither of those facts seemed to reassure Oliver.

"Dig?" Oliver answered the phone in question only to hear laughter.

He pulled the phone away to glance at the screen once more, maybe there was some mistake. On the other end of the receiver Oliver heard laughter … a lot of laughter.

"Diggle?" Oliver tried again with a little more force in his voice.

It must have caught Diggle's attention as Oliver heard a loud shushing noise combined with more giggling.

"Oliv-err," Oliver cocked his head to the side at the sound of Diggle's slurred voice. "Hey man, why'd ya call?"

Oliver put a hand to his forehead and shook his head with a smile. "John, you called me."

"Oh yeah." Diggle laughed again, and Oliver knew that he heard Lyla in the background, also giggling. "Hey, you busy?"

"Not at the moment," Oliver said, pausing to get his jacket. Oliver remembered those nights. They were the nights where he had a little too much fun and needed a ride home, and his calls always started the same way too. "You need a ride, buddy?"

"Aww, Oliver that would be great, man. Thank you." Diggle must have pulled the receiver away to ask Lyla a question because Oliver could hear giggling on the other end. "Lyla says that we're near the fountain in the park."

"Which park?" Oliver asked before being met with dead air.

For, well, not the first time, Oliver was thankful that he talked Felicity into putting tracers on all of their phones in case they ever got separated. They only had to use this method of tracking once when Felicity's psycho ex-boyfriend came to town. A drunken Diggle and Lyla seemed like a good enough reason to use it again.

* * *

><p>"There you go, Sara," Felicity cooed to the newly awakened baby in her arms. "Did you have a bad dream, sweet girl?"<p>

When John had started talking about his night out with Lyla, Felicity had been planning on also taking the night off. She had hoped for a rare night in her apartment, maybe a bubble bath with scented candles, and a little hacking. It was _supposed _to be a relaxing evening.

She did not expect to be asked to be a relief babysitter when John and Lyla's babysitter called in sick. John had practically begged Felicity after Lyla said that this must be a sign that a night out was not supposed to happen. Apparently spending their respective evenings fighting crime was different from having a romantic night out of the apartment.

So Felicity said yes because _a_) Sara was so adorable and how could she no to that face, and _b_) because John looked so pitiful sitting on her couch telling her how little he got to see of Lyla lately.

But who was she to judge?

She was, after all, back in dating solitude where her life consisted of work, the lair, and then home. Maybe there would be a random Saturday where Laurel would extend an awkward invitation for scones and coffee, or Roy would show up at her house demanding the same. Other than that her social life was rather dim.

When she told Oliver that she wasn't going to wait for him, she had meant it. She had every intention of moving on with her life and getting out there in the world. She got a new job, she shared a not-so-romantic weekend with Barry, and then had an awkward kiss from Ray. Her life outside of Oliver Queen was just not happening the way she expected.

Felicity smiled down at the baby in her arms as she gently rocked her back and forth in the white rocking chair of Sara's nursery. _Oh to be a baby again_, Felicity thought to herself. There were no decisions to be made, no wars to be fought, no intensely sexy sort of ex's doing the salmon ladder right in front of your desk…

Felicity stopped her rocking at the thought before realizing that Sara had stopped fussing.

"I guess you just wanted to be held, huh?" Felicity whispered to Sara before leaning down to gently place a kiss to her downy forehead. The smell of a baby and the feel of their skin were definitely addictive. She kind of understood all those baby shampoo commercials where the moms and dads would be nuzzling their little guy or girl.

Sara gave Felicity a toothless grin as she sat, completely relaxed in her arms.

"Did you see that?" Felicity jumped slightly at the sound of Diggle and the front door hitting the wall.

It must have shocked Sara too as she let out a small whimper before closing her eyes. Felicity, however, wasn't satisfied with that response as she moved gently to a standing position, before laying Sara in her crib.

"I could really go for mac and cheese." Felicity heard Lyla shout as she tried to close the door to the nursery behind her, so as not to disturb the sleeping child in the other room.

Felicity did not expect to come into eye sight of Lyla pulling pots and pans out of the kitchen cabinets while Diggle was trying to explain some elaborate story to Oliver. Oliver appeared to only be mildly frustrated, and slightly amused, as he kept trying to glance back at Lyla in the kitchen.

"What is going on in here?" Felicity asked as she entered the room, causing Oliver to freeze and Diggle to turn to her with a smile.

"Licity!" Diggle cheered as he moved to pull her into a hug.

"Whoa," Felicity coughed as she caught a whiff of the alcohol on Diggle's breath. "Well it smells like you've had a good time."

"What?" Diggle pulled back in confusion. "Oh!"

"They had too much to drink." Oliver supplied before turning back to the kitchen where Lyla sat against a cabinet, leaning slightly to the left.

"I can see that," Felicity smiled at Dig who was now leaning to the right. "Well we can't leave them like this."

Oliver turned to look at Felicity as if he had been surprised at her response. "Why not? Tommy used to just give me some Tylenol and water, and let me sleep it off."

"Well, you didn't have a sleeping baby in the next room," Felicity told him as Diggle pulled Felicity into another hug before resting his weight on her shoulders. "They can hardly take care of themselves right now, let alone Sara if she starts to cry."

"Good point," Oliver said.

"I love you Licity," Diggle told her in a small voice. "I don't think you hear that enough."

"A little help here." Felicity gestured to Oliver. "He's a little too heavy for me to carry."

Oliver jolted forward to move John's weight to his shoulder instead. "Oliver, man." Diggle smiled at the change of person.

"Let's get you to bed," Oliver told Diggle as he began leading him down the hall. "Can you get Lyla?"

"Umm, that might be more difficult than you'd think," She told him as she gestured to the sleeping form on the kitchen floor.

"Ok." Oliver sighed as he shifted Diggle's weight on his shoulder. "I'll be right back for her."

Felicity ran a hand through her loose hair as she padded over to the tiled floor where Lyla slept. The floor was cooler now that she only had on her 'nerds are cute' socks. Felicity had just seated herself on the floor next to Lyla when Oliver reentered the room, minus Diggle.

"He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow," Oliver told her as he gestured to Lyla. "Is she asleep?"

"Yeah, looks like it," Felicity told him as she pulled back Lyla's hair that had fallen over her cheek. "And she's drooling."

"Ok, well can you help me get her up?" Oliver asked as he moved towards Felicity and Lyla.

Felicity helped Oliver position Lyla and shift her weight enough so that Oliver could lift her with ease. She watched as Oliver carried Lyla in a fireman's carry back to where he had taken Dig a few minutes prior.

Felicity looked around the kitchen before bending down to gather the pots and pans that Lyla had pulled out of the cabinets.

"Both of them are out." Oliver's voice startled her, but not enough for her to drop the pan in her hands. "I have never seen Diggle that drunk before."

Felicity smiled to herself as she shifted her place on the floor to land on her bottom, her back against the row of cabinets. "How did you get dragged into this?" Felicity asked.

Oliver folded his arms over his chest as he walked to the door jamb, before leaning on the entrance way. _Everything about him was perfect_, Felicity thought. Well, not perfect, but pretty damn close.

She would often get struck with thoughts such as those. Thoughts of shirtless Oliver, caring Oliver, protective Oliver, Smart, selfless Oliver, Arrow Oliver – They all ran through her mind all day, every day. She hated that she couldn't get him out of her head. Even when she was supposed to have a night off, he was there.

It was unfair really. She worked for years to be a better person, a person behind the scenes. Invisible. She worked very hard to atone for her apparent sins – creating a super virus being one of them. Then he came into her office with such ridiculous stories and excuses that she just had to help him. Now she was in love with him and unable to be _with_ him. It was the universe's sick joke.

"I was at the foundry when Diggle called for a ride." Oliver shook his head with a laugh. "It took me a half hour longer than it normally would to get the two of them here. Lyla kept trying to open the door to get out and Diggle kept saying he was hungry so I had to stop and get them tacos."

"I thought Lyla wanted mac and cheese?" Felicity asked in confusion.

Oliver simply shrugged in return. "What were you doing here? I was so focused on getting them inside I didn't even think about it."

"The babysitter backed out so I've been watching Sara." Oliver nodded as though he should have realized it sooner. "I just got her back down to sleep when you guys came busting in through the door."

"Sorry about that." Oliver winced as he moved sit beside her on the floor. "It's kind of funny if you think about it."

"What is?" She asked as she played with the hem of her shirt.

"Well, we've been avoiding being alone in the same space for weeks now," Oliver said honestly. "Diggle says he wants to plan a romantic date with Lyla, so you take the night off,"

"That's not why I took the night off." Felicity interrupted him, eyes swinging up to meet his.

She knew it was only partially true. The only times that they had been alone since the hospital had been while they were working on a mission. Things had changed between them no matter how mature they were, and how focused they were on their shared goal of saving the city.

You couldn't un-ring a bell, as her mother always told her.

"I know, but then Dig asks you to babysit and then becomes too drunk to get home." Oliver chuckled at the memories of drunk Diggle in his mind, and on his phone. "If I didn't know any better I would say that this was his and Lyla's way of getting us in the same room alone."

"If we didn't know any better." Felicity nodded along. John often played mediator between the two, so this wasn't out of the realm of possibility, if not a little extreme. "Dig's not the type to play match maker. Not that there's a match for him to make."

"No, I guess there's not," Oliver said slowly, looking over to the opposite side of the kitchen where pictures of baby Sara hung on the fridge.

"You want to watch a movie?" Felicity asked as she began to stand up. "I mean, if we're going to wait here tonight, we might as well do something instead of sitting on the kitchen floor in awkward silence."

Oliver gave her a small, sad, smile before nodding along. "Yeah I guess so."

"Oliver?" Felicity asked with her eyes pinned to the floor. "We're going to be ok, right?"

Oliver took in a stabilizing breath. Would they be ok? Sure they could work together and respect each other. But would those feelings get in the way? Would they ever get back to being 'partners' again? He wished he had an answer, but he didn't.

So he did the next best thing, and hoped.

"Of course." He smiled at her as she raised her glance to face him. "We're going to be fine."

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><p>That morning Diggle woke up to a pounding headache while Lyla slept soundly beside him. <em>So maybe that half bottle of champagne on top of that one bottle of wine and that other bottle of champagne was too much<em>, he thought to himself. He didn't know why their date night had made both of them nervous. It wasn't like it was their first date or anything. Just their first date since Sara had been born.

As he began to make his way to Sara's room he tried to pull his memories together to figure out how they got back to the apartment the night before. He hoped that he hadn't been stupid enough to drive. Maybe he could call Felicity to get a clue later. She had been watching Sara, so she should have known something.

Sara was awake in her crib when he entered her room, smiling and laughing as her mobile sat stationary above her. He wondered, not for the first time, what a baby must think about.

"Hey baby girl," Diggle cooed as he gently picked her up from her crib, receiving a wide smile in return.

"Did you have fun with Aunt Felicity?" He asked, not really expecting a response as he walked her out of the room and to the kitchen where he could fix her a bottle.

Diggle stopped short as he saw something that he didn't think was possible, at least not with the way things were lately.

On the couch sat Oliver and Felicity, asleep, and huddled together beneath the fleece blanket. Felicity was covered by it while Oliver kept an arm around her shoulders and another entwined in one of her hands.

Diggle looked down at his daughter who couldn't possibly understand what this moment really meant-The hope that one day the two of them could figure everything out and just be happy together.

"Who knew that two drunk idiots, could bring these two closer together, huh?" He whispered to Sara before continuing on to the kitchen.


	11. In Her Head

**_bellapaige88 wrote: Can you write about the first time Felicity tells Oliver that she loves him_**

**_AN: You all are so wonderful with your comments and favs and follows! I've received a couple questions about prompts- I do take prompts over at tumblr (primarily- ask) because it is easier to respond and keep them in order- but if I were to receive a prompt here I would still add it to my list._**

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><p>She had said it countless times before, in her head of course.<p>

Those three simple words he had said once as a decoy, once backwards, and implied it on a few occasions after that. Every time he would say it, or imply it, she would respond in her head 'me too.' When he left the foundry hooded up with Roy at his side, she would close her eyes and send those words to him as a silent prayer.

When she said those words, silently, in her head it was because of the way he smiled at her, or the way he used to squeeze her shoulder to stop her from babbling.

Felicity would say those words as a promise to be here, in the lair, waiting for him to come home.

She knew what it would mean to say it out loud, for him to hear it with his own ears – she knew how things would change. He would look at her with pain in his eyes and once again say that he had to be alone, he couldn't be Oliver Queen and the Arrow. It wasn't safe.

He wouldn't hear the meaning of the words. He wouldn't understand when she said those words that she said them to him as Oliver and the Arrow. There was no divide in his personality for her. He was always Oliver.

She kept those words to herself for months, hiding behind the distance between them. He would go out, barely glancing her way, speak with her on the comms to let her guide him past a security system or two.

Never once did she let him see how much it pained her to watch him walk away from her or let it come between what they were doing for the city.

"Felicity, are there any others?" His voice came through the speakers in front of her.

Diggle sat beside her, watching the security cameras with her.

"I see one heading away from you in the west hallway," she told him.

"Did you guys get the thumb drive?" Diggle asked, sharing a look with Felicity as the guard began moving closer to the room where they were hiding.

"Got it." Roy's voice came over the speaker with a hint of triumph.

"Good now come home," Felicity said with a sigh of relief as Diggle sat back in the chair next to her.

"We are on our way, see you both soon." Oliver voiced out,

"Be safe, love you," Felicity rambled off as she began typing on the keyboard in front of her.

Diggle turned to glance her way as she continued to type, furrowing his brow as she didn't even blink at having said those words. He almost didn't catch it as she said it with such practice. It was as if she had said those words to Oliver a hundred times before.

"Felicity?" He asked, trying to get her attention.

There hadn't been a noise from the other side of the comms, no recognition from him or Roy. Diggle couldn't be sure if Oliver had heard it or not, but even so it was the first time that he had heard Felicity verbally acknowledge her feelings for Oliver.

"What?" She asked as she twisted to look at Diggle, stopping her movements on the keyboard as she noticed his perplexed expression. "What is it?"

"Do you realize what you just said, on the comms?" He asked slowly.

She didn't even seem to notice what she had said. Unless she and Oliver were already exchanging 'I love you's' this was something that should have been noticed, by either one of them.

"No, what?" She asked as she scrunched her forehead in thought. "I told them to come home." But her statement came out as more of a question as Diggle continued to stare at her expectantly. "I told Oliver to be safe."

Diggle watched as her eyes cleared of confusion and her mouth dropped open in shock.

"I didn't … I mean I couldn't have … They had their comms turned off by then, right?" Felicity let the words fall as she seemed to inch forward in her seat. "Oh god, how could I have said that?"

"I'm assuming you don't really want an answer to that." Diggle chuckled as he watched her let her head fall to the cool metal, table to be encircled by her arms.

"Do you think he heard me?" Felicity asked as she picked her head up with a groan. "That was the first time I said I love you to him. You don't think he heard that, right?"

"I don't know, I didn't really hear a response." He gestured to the monitor in front of them. "Can I ask why the big deal, though? I mean you two both love each other, it's obvious to see after just spending ten minutes with you two." Diggle knew both of his friends cared deeply for each other, but were too stubborn to let go."Wouldn't it just be easier, for the both of you, to admit it?"

"The big deal is Oliver," she told him sadly. "He doesn't think he can be with anyone right now. He doesn't think he can be both and nothing I say will change that, so I'm trying to move on."

Diggle cocked his head to the side in thought. "Felicity-"

"No." She stopped him. "I can't wait for him to possibly never change his mind. I'm not going to push him either. So in the meantime I'm just going say what I want in my head … with the exception of this time, when I said it out loud."

"So you're just going to keep 'moving on'?" Diggle asked with disbelief.

"I'm not the kind of girl who sits around waiting for a guy to decide he can be with her." She told him sadly, tears filling her eyes as she spoke. "I'm not going to cry about it either."

"Ok, I'll drop it," he told her as he shifted in his chair. "But neither of you are very happy right now and I think that being honest with each other would help."

Diggle watched as Felicity gently wiped at her eyes before turning her focus back to the computers, not responding.

The first time she was supposed to say 'I love you' to Oliver was supposed to be romantic and passionate. It was supposed to be just them, alone, maybe in her apartment or his – the foundry would even work. The timing was supposed to be better, their relationship was supposed to be different.

She was actually supposed to say it to his face.

"Felicity." They both turned at the sound of Oliver's voice and heavy footsteps coming towards them. "I'm going to need you to start running the diagnostics on this," he told her as he held up the procured thumb drive. "Let's see what kind of intel we can get."

Diggle glanced at Felicity who sat, mouth slightly agape, before giving her a nudge. "Oh, yeah, I can do that." She told him as she reached out for the thumb drive in his hand.

"Good," he told her with a soft smile before turning back to the work bench.

"So, Oliver, good ride back?" Diggle asked, moving to stand next to Oliver.

"Yeah, no issues." Oliver turned to give Diggle a reassuring smile. "Probably our easiest night this week."

"Good, good." Diggle nodded before turning to glance at Felicity who kept her back facing them,

"Hey Felicity," Roy said as he approached the group with his hood in his hands. "I think something went wrong with the comms out there."

Felicity did her best not to exchange a glance with Diggle as Roy brought the small device over to her.

"We kept getting this static," he told her as he dropped the device on the table. "It might be time for some new ones."

Felicity didn't know what to say except give a simple nod.

_He didn't hear her._

She turned to peek at Oliver out of the corner of her eye, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with regret. He hadn't heard her.

She had said it countless times before, and she would continue to say it many more times, in her head of course.

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><p><strong>So this turned out way more angsty than I intended. I hope you all enjoyed it anyway! Thank you for r<strong>**eading!**


	12. First Words

_**Anonymous wrote: I always wanted to read a fix where prompt: Oliver is trying to teach his and Felicity's baby (boy or girl it doesn't matter) to say "dada" for the first time, but the baby's first word is either "Roy, Dig, or Arrow"**_

**AN: Thank you all for your response to the last chapter! You're all awesome! I'm almost up to date with where I'm at with Tumblr, which is when I'll be able to add in the prompts that you all have sent me! **

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><p>"Oliver, if you keep pestering her, her first word is going to be 'stop,'" Felicity told him casually as she placed the bowl full of spaghetti on the dinner table with a smile.<p>

Ever since Hope was born, almost one year ago, Oliver had been nothing but a devoted father. Since Felicity returned to work as Vice-President of the newly renamed Queen Consolidated, Oliver had more time to spend at home with his daughter. As Diggle said, being a "stay at home dad" suited Oliver.

Oliver claimed that Hope was getting ready to say her first word for weeks now because he could see it on her face. He knew that his daughter had something to say, something important, and he was just beaming with excitement.

"Besides, we all know she is going to say my name first." Thea joked as she followed Felicity into the room with a basket full of garlic bread.

"Thea is a bit harder to say than 'da-da.'" Oliver commented, causing Felicity to laugh.

"Whatever loser," Thea told him as she stuck out her tongue before bending closer to kiss Hope's cheek. "Can you say Thea?" She smiled at the small child in her brother's arms.

"Stop putting pressure on her, Thea." Oliver muttered as he twisted slightly out of Thea's grasp. "Hope will talk when she is ready to talk."

"Says the man who spent two hours repeating 'da-da' to her this morning," Felicity said as she moved to take a seat next to him. "Here, give her to me so you two can eat."

Oliver placed a soft kiss to his daughter's forehead before handing her off to Felicity who smiled widely at the blonde haired, blue-eyed baby. Hope returned her mother's smile with a toothless grin and arms outstretched.

Hope looked so much like Felicity, everyone thought so. From the minute she was born, Donna had commented that the baby was almost an exact replica of her mother with the exception of her hair.

Then there was her intelligence. Hope far surpassed other babies her age, and had gained more than one appreciative raise of eyebrows from her pediatrician.

Oliver just wanted to teach her one thing that was good and normal. He was more than thrilled that Hope had inherited more of Felicity's qualities than his – it would probably make parent teacher conferences a breeze – but he was slightly jealous.

Felicity kept telling him that Hope had plenty of his qualities, her favorite plush toy was a baby sized bow and arrow and her favorite activity was to watch her father and uncles spar in the lair, but he was hoping for some of his less violent and dangerous past times.

The very thought of Hope putting on a mask and going out to fight crime kept Oliver up at night, pacing her nursery floor. He would try to focus on the present, the squirming almost toddler who was content to lay on her play mat with her father instead of the young woman she would one day become.

Oliver didn't even want to get into the idea of dating, which Roy insisted on teasing him about.

So during the day, when he spent his mornings and afternoons with her, Oliver would try to teach her things. He would read to her, repeat 'da-da' to her, guide her clumsy almost walking movements, and repeat 'da-da' some more. He was determined to get the first word.

A sign that he gave her something.

"Roy said that the club is doing well," Felicity said to Thea, hoping to get the conversation moving again while they ate.

The Queen family made it a point to have a weekly dinner, just the four of them. It was a tradition that started unintentionally after Oliver and Felicity announced they were dating. Felicity would come to the Queen apartment for dinner and a movie with Oliver every week as a set date. Some nights Thea would be in the apartment and Felicity invited her to join, not wanting the younger Queen to feel left out.

Soon it became family dinners and a general understanding that on Friday night, before Thea went to Verdant or Oliver and Felicity went to the lair, the trio would have a calm dinner together and talk about their weeks. It was normal.

"Yeah, we got a new distributor who isn't trying to rob us blind," Thea said with a roll of her eyes. "Roy also hired a new bouncer for the back door."

"And are you two, ya know, dating?" Oliver asked, trying to maintain his innocence. He and Roy spent a fair share of time together and knew how much the younger man cared for his sister.

"Stop fishing for information, Ollie." Thea admonished her brother. "What happens between Roy and me is no one's business, especially my nosy older brother."

Oliver shrugged in response while Felicity placed a kiss to Hope's curls, trying to hide her smile.

"Oy," Hope said with a smile on her face.

Everyone stopped their movements, Thea with a forkful of spaghetti half way to her mouth, as Hope slapped the table happily.

"Oy," she said again.

"Did she just …?" Thea let her question trail off as she stared at baby Hope who was smiling happily. "She just said Roy."

"Or she said 'oy.'" Felicity tried to deflect after seeing the look on Oliver's face.

"We just mentioned Roy three times in conversation and didn't say oy once. I think the little miss just said her first word." Thea cooed to the baby who let her head fall back against her mother's chest. "Way to go, Hope!"

"Oliver," Felicity murmured, placing a hand on her husband's arm. "You ok?"

Oliver turned to her and nodded, although Felicity saw a small bit of sadness in his eyes.

"I have got to call Roy and tell him!" Thea laughed as she pushed her chair out from the table to make her call.

"Oy!" Hope laughed once more, bouncing in her mother's lap.

"All right, traitor, come here." Oliver reached his hands out for his daughter. "What happened? We've been practicing."

Felicity smiled warmly at her husband and daughter. "You do realize that she did get something from you?" Felicity continued at Oliver's confused look. "Your stubbornness, you've been training her to say 'da-da' for weeks now, and the first thing she says is Roy."

"That's not funny," Oliver told her before turning back to Hope, who was now pulling on the collar of his t-shirt with her tiny fingers. "Tell your mommy that she's not funny."

"Hope has more you than I think you realize," Felicity told him as she inched towards him in her seat. "She may look like me, but she is all you, Oliver."

"I doubt my first word was Roy," he sighed as he gave Hope a kiss.

"Yeah, but I'm sure that after her first run in with law enforcement, you're going to be her first call." Felicity smiled jokingly.

Oliver gaped at her, holding Hope a little tighter. "That's not reassuring."

"Oliver, she takes after both of us." Felicity smiled. "I'd be surprised if we didn't get at least one late night phone call from Captain Lance."

"Yeah well let's work on nailing the windows shut and reinforcing the security system." He murmured as he looked down at the happy baby in his arms, still seeing only Felicity.

"My point is, she is both of ours," Felicity said as she ran a hand down Oliver's cheek. "Roy may have been her first word, but you're the one who spends every day with her and the one she counts on."

"Yeah." He sighed as Hope rested her head against her father's chest. "But seriously, can we try to avoid the heroics with this one? I think dating will be more than enough of a struggle."

"Don't worry, daddy, I'm pretty sure this princess is going to be more than capable of handling herself." Felicity reminded him as she let her hand trace small circles on Hope's back, lulling the baby to sleep.

Two weeks later, Hope said 'da-da' for the first time.


	13. Taken

_**Anonymous asked: Olicity prompt: The Bratva threaten Felicity, not realizing her relationship woth Oliver.**_  
><em><strong>Anonymous asked: Olicity prompt: Some members of Bratva try to establish dominance by kidnapping Felicity; while she was never really afraid, Oliver has never been so scared in his life.<strong>_

**AN: So this prompt was very similar to another prompt I received so I decided to combine them together. Thank you to the two anons (possibly one, not sure ;-) for the wonderful prompts. I hope everyone enjoys their respective holidays!**

**Not knowing where this next half of the season is taking us, I based this one loosely after Oliver returns to the group with some of the speculation about the return of some season1!Oliver with some protective!Oliver mixed in.**

_It had started only a week ago_, Oliver thought to himself as he sat in her chair, head in his hands.

During his absence the Bratva members of Starling City had moved to make a power play over the organized crime structure. The combined forces of the Arrow and the SCPD had been overthrowing each organization strategically until Oliver had gone missing. The police force hadn't been enough to control each crime family as they all took the Arrow's absence to their advantage.

The team, led by Roy, had done their best, but in the end it had been Ray Palmer's 'Star City' initiative that had been the linchpin to getting the city back in order. Ray, and subsequently Felicity, provided valuable resources to the SCPD and had even donated funds and equipment to the team – while not knowing who he was donating to.

Palmer Technologies was quickly taking a foothold in lowering the crime rates one technological advancement at a time.

It didn't take long for the Bratva, who had been playing it smart and laying low, to figure out the role that Felicity played. While Ray made the donations, Felicity was strategically dismantling each organization with a few simple keystrokes.

She was making a lot of very powerful men, very angry. It wasn't much different from what she had done while working with him, the only difference being that Palmer was a boy in comparison. Sure, he had the drive to be a hero – a champion for the city – but he didn't have the experience and training that Oliver, Diggle, and even Roy had.

Palmer was playing with matches, and had unintentionally set Felicity on fire. At least that was how Oliver viewed it. He knew all too well how in control of her own fate Felicity was, and how determined she was to do what was right.

He also knew how stubborn she he had always found a way to keep her safe, for the most part.

When the letters and packages started coming he had only just returned to the city. He had been raw and beaten – a different man from the one who left. In a way he understood why she didn't come to him.

The Bratva had been playing it subtle, it appeared. Tailing Felicity to and from Palmer Technologies while keeping track of her daily routine.

Felicity hadn't been stupid though. She had seen what was happening and had asked Diggle to be her bodyguard while she gathered more information – proof – to hand over to Captain Lance, while keeping the newly returned Oliver out of it.

Felicity put the patterns and the small letters she had received at work together and ran a trace. The Bratva were on her very short list of suspects.

Diggle had only been with Felicity all of five hours when she was separated from him in the Palmer Technologies cafeteria.

Diggle didn't understand how it could happen, how they could have gotten through the security station and through his diligent watch. He had only just turned his head to verify the security of the room and then she was gone. It happened too fast.

Oliver had been training in the lair when he got the call from Dig, saying that Felicity had been taken.  
>"Why wasn't I told?" He asked as Diggle paced in front of him, twenty minutes later, Roy leaning against one of the cool, metal tables.<p>

"She didn't want to bring this up, not so soon after you got home," Diggle said in defense, although his voice was weak. "I called Lyla, and she is working on tasking an A.R.G.U.S. satellite to locate their position."

"Don't bother," Oliver scolded as he stood to his feet, anger radiating off of him. "I should have been told."

"Give Dig a break." Roy interrupted as he pushed himself off of the table. "Felicity didn't want to tell you for a reason."

"And she's been kidnapped, so you want to try again?" Oliver argued.

The men knew that Oliver came home … different. They weren't sure what he had gone through after he walked out of the foundry doors that night, but they knew that the man who returned wasn't the same. He was harder, more battle worn.

"We want to find her too," Diggle said in a calm voice – much more at ease than he felt. "Do you still have any contacts in the Bratva? Maybe if they realize who she is, they'll let her go?"

Oliver shook his head as he brought his hands up to rub against his face, as if he could wipe away the frustration and terror he was feeling. He felt the buzz of anxiety vibrating beneath his skin, the desire to rip someone apart, piece by piece. It was the only solution he could see to get Felicity back.

"I don't think me asking for a favor will get us anywhere seeing as how I was denounced by Alexi," he said in reference to when he used their resources to find Slade. "It might just make matters worse."

"We have to do something," Roy muttered as he moved towards Felicity's computers.

As Oliver looked to John, who held the same fear in his eyes, he realized just how much guilt his friend must have been feeling. Diggle was supposed to protect her, and he failed.

Oliver knew that feeling.

"Hey guys," Roy shouted from his spot at the computers while holding up the 'Arrow phone.' "It's Palmer."

"You have the guy on speed dial?" Oliver asked upon seeing Ray's brilliant white smile pop up on the phone.

"He gives us money, of course we have him on speed dial." Roy rolled his eyes before Oliver snatched the phone from his outstretched hand.

"Palmer?" His voice was short.

"Wow, hi, you sound a little different, maybe an octave lower or something, which I know doesn't change much because of the voice modulator, but still, wow, different."

Oliver turned to look at Diggle, frustrated glare in place. Diggle only shrugged, having been all too familiar with Ray's tendency to rant.

"Do you have any news on Felicity Smoak?"

Oliver heard Ray sigh on the other end of the line. "I received a phone call from a member of the Bratva a couple minutes ago, they've asked for a ransom."

"Good, what is it?" Oliver asked.

A ransom was good. It meant that Felicity could still be alive.

"It's a bit steep," Ray said in hesitance.

Oliver didn't understand where this hesitation was coming from. This was Felicity. And Palmer had money. This should be a none-issue.

"And you will pay it." Oliver asserted.

"It's not … money." Ray's voice sounded small over the phone.

Oliver brought a hand up to pinch his brow in frustration. Each minute Palmer stalled was another minute further away from Felicity. Didn't this man understand? The Bratva didn't wait for you to make up your mind before they made it for you.

"Then what is it?" Oliver gritted out.

"They want the tech specifications for a new design Felicity and I have been working on," Palmer rushed forward. "It is a revolutionary way to protect the city … a new form of hero. In the wrong hands it would be catastrophic. No one was supposed to know about this, it was on an encrypted file that only Felicity and I had access too."

"How would they have known about this information then?" Oliver wasn't sure he wanted to know that answer.

The Bratva he knew would have placed an associate at Palmer Technologies to gain high level secrets. They would just kidnap the highest level executive they could get their hands on and torture them for no other reason than to get what they wanted. Right now, the Bratva wanted a way to stop Palmer and his crusade to save the city from itself.

"I don't want to speculate," Ray stuttered.

"Then don't bother," Oliver grunted.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Ray asked timidly. "You sound more surly than normal. I wouldn't say anything, with the kidnapping and all, but you sound about ready to kill someone."

"That's exactly what I'm going to do." Oliver snapped. "Did they give you coordinates to make the drop?"

"Felicity wouldn't want them to have this information." Ray backpedaled. "It could mean the end to all the progress we made these past few months, all the lives we could save, would end. Felicity wouldn't want that,"

"Do not tell me what Felicity would or would not want." Oliver demanded in a low voice, knowing that if Palmer was standing across from him that Oliver would have his hands wrapped around the other man's throat.

Yes, Felicity was better than all of them. She would want to save the city, put the lives of countless others above her own. Felicity would want to do what was right.

She was also the person who helped him to harness any light that was still left inside of him. She helped him find his humanity. Now he was being would find another "revolutionary" way to save the city.

He would not lose her when he was so close to getting her back.

"Oliver," Diggle said in warning.

"Send the coordinates and plans to this device." Oliver shook himself back to reality. "I will take care of the rest."

"This isn't Arsenal, is it?" Palmer asked. "It's you … the Arrow."

"You have ten minutes to send me that information or I will put an arrow in your chest."

Oliver didn't have to look to know that Diggle was sending him a disapproving look. They normally didn't threaten people who were trying to help them.

"Don't you think that was a tad bit dramatic?" Roy asked. "The guy was helping us out."

Oliver didn't turn to look at either before moving to his suit.

The coordinates that Palmer received weren't far away from the garage that Alexi operated out of. It was an 'abandoned' warehouse on the outskirts of the glades used for confidential deals between members.

Oliver didn't care much for playing by his old set of rules, but Dig made him agree to calling in Captain Lance. They had come too far to revert back to old ways. It wasn't just Oliver's mission now and the Arrow stood for too much to lose it all for revenge.

Diggle and Roy took the back entrance while Oliver swooped in from above. The program that they had been able to use showed different heat signatures throughout the building. One most notably being still while another paced five feet away.

Oliver swung through a window on the top floor of the building while Diggle and Roy went for a more stealth approach below, taking down the sentries set at the exits.

The only thing that stopped Oliver from killing the men that got in his way as he walked down the hall, was the thought that this wasn't who he was – not to Felicity. So he disabled them, with the promise that if they got back up he would put an arrow between their eyes. There would be no second chances this time.

The man guarding Felicity proved that testament. As Oliver kicked in the door, arrow notched in his bow, ready to aim, the man with the gun began to raise his weapon in Felicity's direction.

Oliver didn't give it a second though as the arrow flew through the air before piercing the man's sternum.

"Felicity?" Oliver lowered his weapon to gaze upon the woman, tied to a chair, in front of him.

She had her head lowered, and appeared to be wincing. The thought of her in pain momentarily paralyzed him.

"Oh, thank god, it's you." she breathed out as she lifted her head in relief. "Quick, untie me before they come back."

Oliver let out a breath as he took a step towards her. As she lifted her face in full light Oliver noticed something out of place.

His temporary relief that she had been ok was now replaced with rage at the sight of her with a bloody lip, cut cheek, and bruised eye.

"You're hurt," he growled.

"Only minimally." She shrugged. "I knew you would find me, I just had to stall long enough that they didn't think I was giving up the information too easily and put a bullet in my head. Your Russian friends here … not as good conversationalists as Anatoly."

Using a small knife from his pants pocket, he released her bound wrists, pulling them into his own hands. Her skin was visibly irritated from where the zip ties had bound her wrists together behind her back.

"Where else are you hurt?" He asked as he brought a hand up to gently caress her injured cheek.

For the briefest of seconds he was back to a little over a year earlier, the first time he broke his vow for her. She hadn't been physically injured that night, but it was clear that she was not alright. That night she had cupped his shoulder, more focused on his pain than her own. She had apologized to him, for making him kill for her. He had looked into her eyes and told her the one absolute truth – there was no choice to make.

Tonight, just like that night – before Slade, before their first date gone bad, and Sara being murdered, before Malcolm Merlyn rose from the dead, and before the League of Assassins took him away from her – he knew in absolute certainty that she was more important than any vow. He would do whatever it took to keep her alive and safe.

And from the way she was staring into his, he knew that she would always trust him to save her.

"Oliver seriously," she stuttered out. "You can frisk me later, that didn't come out right." She groaned. "Let's go."

He felt her begin to pull away from his hold, slowly, as if she didn't want to let go, but had to at the same time.

"Felicity," he said, although he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say next.

She shook her head, her cue for him to stop whatever he was going to say next. Either what he was going to say was too painful for her to hear, or she wasn't ready to hear it yet.

Felicity reached out to grasp his bicep, opening her eyes with a smile.

"I knew you would find me."

She was right. He would always find her.


	14. Training Day

**_Anonymous asked: Olicity prompt? Based on the quote "boobs can make frat boy do anything", Felicity tries to prove her theory, she tries to get Oliver to do something (writer choice) by seducing him with her boobs (not explicitly- because this is Felicity). Oliver is very aroused. (no smut, but sexual tension) (( I don't know if you do this kind of prompts, but if you do, thank you :) ))_**

**AN: Thank you everyone for your comments, follows, and favorites. I really appreciate everyone's support and interest in these little drabbles.**

"What are you thinking about?" Oliver asked as he placed a hand on Felicity's arm, jarring her from staring, seemingly, into space.

Felicity turned to him as she brought her Big Belly Burger drink up to her lips, a smile beginning to form on her light fuchsia stained lips. It was one of those rare nights where the lair was empty save for the two of them. Diggle was home, putting Sara to bed, while Roy worked upstairs at Verdant.

Oliver bought them dinner while they worked. He didn't have to hood-up for at least another couple hours, which made for another rarity – They were actually able to eat dinner together.

"You've been staring for five minutes, at least," Oliver said as he picked up a couple fries before tossing them into his mouth.

Felicity nodded as she leaned forward in her chair, placing a hand on Oliver's knee. He stopped chewing to look at where her hand was strategically placed.

"I was thinking … that maybe I should learn how to use a weapon," Felicity said, a tentative smile forming on her face.

Oliver choked on the food he had been swallowing, in shock. His Felicity, using a weapon. It wasn't a crazy idea, definitely not. He would be lying if he said that the image of her holding a bow and arrow did elicit some rather impure thoughts. Even so, he would rather her stay far, far away from danger.

"Mmm-hmmm," Oliver murmured as he cleared his throat. "And what brought on this sudden urge?"

Felicity sat back in her chair with a contemplative look on her face. It was clear that this was something she had thought about as well.

"I wouldn't say that it is a brand new feeling," Felicity told him. "We've been doing this for how many years now, and I'm still the weakest link on the team."

"Hey," Oliver began to object. "You are definitely not the weakest link, if anything, you hold this team together."

"That's sweet, really, and normally I would agree as none of you are near as smart as me, IQ wise," Oliver cocked his head to the side, holding back an amused grin at her modesty. "But physically I'm a liability.""Says the woman who stabbed Slade Wilson with the Mirakuru cure, disarmed a crazed gunman, and threw an exploding arrow in order to save Lyla's life." Oliver chastised as he leaned close enough to give her arm a comforting squeeze. "No you're right, you are definitely a liability."

"Say what you want, but wouldn't it be easier for you to do your job at night if you didn't have to worry about me?" Felicity tried, pulling back to sit further in her chair.

"Objectively I would say yes, but even if you were trained, I would worry about you." Oliver told her as he moved his chair closer to her so that he could brush a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "There isn't a universe out there that I wouldn't worry about you." She raised her eyes level to his, touched at his words.

Oliver knew that no matter how much she trained, or how often she proved herself as 'capable' in the field, he would never want her there.

"Care to try again?" He asked with a playful smile. "I can keep invalidating your reasons all night."

Felicity let out a small sigh before folding her arms over her chest. Oliver could see that he won this round of the argument at least. When they argued it wasn't done with the intention to win or make the other lose, but this time Oliver would take the win – anything to keep her safe.

"I could wear that exercise outfit you like so much, the one with the pink blocks on it," Felicity tried, unfolding her arms and leaning forward in her chair. "And if you really want to make things interesting, we could do strip training."

_So maybe he hadn't won._

Oliver gulped at the visual swimming in his head. "Strip training?"

Felicity held back the smile he could see dancing in her eyes. "Yeah, every time I do well, you lose an item of clothing, and every time I miss a target, I lose something."

"That is an interesting training method," Oliver said as he pulled in a ragged breath. "I might be willing to give it a try."

"We could give it a try now." Felicity shrugged with a lower than normal voice. "If you're interested, that is."

Oliver marveled at the woman in front of him. Was there nothing she couldn't do?

"Damn it, Felicity Smoak, you really know how to get your way." He groaned as he tipped his head back, hand over his eyes.

He felt Felicity move from her chair to his lap as she looped her arms around his neck. He tilted his head to get a view of her pleased grin.

"I am quite convincing," she said with confidence before leaning forward to meet his lips."And I told you anyone with boobs could get a frat boy to do anything."

Oliver laughed before claiming her lips once more.


	15. No Matter the Cost

_**Anonymous asked: Olicity prompt: (Established Oliver and Felicity) Oliver goes to visit Cooper Sheldon in prison.**_

**AN: Thank you, anon, for this wonderful prompt. I've been having a terrible time staying inspired long enough to finish a prompt response (yes, I have about three unfinished responses sitting on my computer) and this one helped me get back to work. I hope you enjoy this one, as I had a ton of fun writing it. Protective Oliver definitely returned in this one, I hope he's to everyone's liking!**

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><p>He knew that Felicity wouldn't approve of what he was about to do. She was perfectly content moving forward with their relationship and their lives as if this whole instance had never happened. He sometimes envied her ability to remain positive in their worst situations – her ability to remain just and fair. She was capable of moving on from the past, the pain that was her catalyst – her crucible.<p>

He was not.

It hadn't taken long after he returned from Nanda Parbat to realize that his relationship with Felicity was worth fighting for – worth living for.

It had taken only slightly longer to win her over, convince her that he was serious and he wasn't going to spook again.

While his possessions remained in the apartment with Thea, he found himself spending more and more time in her apartment. He would wake up with her, watch as she did her morning routine, would drive her to work, pick up her favorite sandwich for lunch, spend his nights with her, and go home with her.

Some people might say that he spent too much time with Felicity, but he felt that he didn't spend enough. Every moment he was away from her was another minute closer to when he could be with her again.

It was a Wednesday when he found it – the box. He had been cleaning the apartment, something he wanted to do for her since they always got home too late and were up too early to clean the apartment to her liking. The box of letters from one Cooper Sheldon, resident of Iron Heights penitentiary, sat on the top shelf of the hallway coat closet. The postmark on the top letter was from the previous week.

He didn't read them, as much as he wanted too. Oliver waited to pick her up from work to have the conversation. If her psycho ex-boyfriend was sending her 'love letters' from prison he felt he had the right to be concerned. There was a reason Felicity hadn't brought this up, and he would listen to that reason. He still couldn't deny the burning sense of rage filling his gut as he thought of that man holding Felicity at gunpoint, threatening her life.

"So I was cleaning today," he said mildly as he drove the streets of Starling on their way to the foundry.

"Thank you," she said with a pleased smile. "You really didn't have to do that. Besides, the apartment isn't even lived in enough to deserve a good cleaning. I mean you don't even live there, sort of."

He chuckled as he reached across the center console to entwine their fingers together, her body shifting towards him.

"Or at least your things don't live there," she said with a contemplative look crossing her face. "Anyway, you were cleaning?"

"Yeah, and I uh, I found this box," he told her as they came to a red light. "It had all these letters inside."

"You were cleaning the coat closet?" She asked with a laugh. "How deep of a clean did you do?"

He rolled his eyes to her response but remained steadfast. "When did he start sending you letters?"

Felicity turned her head, the laughter stopping, but proceeded anyway. He knew that he wasn't going to give up until he was assured that Felicity was safe. He also knew that she knew him well enough to know that fact as well.

"They started right after we sent him to Iron Heights. I was going to respond, and tell him to just leave me alone, but I didn't want to encourage him." Felicity shook her head as the light turned green. "I figured it best to keep them so that if anything ever came of it, we would have evidence."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" And by 'anyone,' he meant him.

From the amount of letters in the box, he must have been sending her multiple letters a week for months, possibly one letter a day. The idea that she hadn't said anything cause him to feel a spark of frustration rise within him.

"Things just kind of snowballed after that." She shrugged in response. "There were so many other things happening that were more important than Cooper's stupid letters, like Sara's murder and you leaving. We had enough trouble, you know? Why borrow more?"

"I wish you would have told me," he said with a calmness he didn't feel. "I could have done something."

"Like what?" Felicity asked, causing him to glance at him out of the corner of his eye. "I was already spending more than a fair amount of time with you, Diggle, and Roy in the lair or in a heavily guarded building with multiple well qualified security guards and cameras."

"Seeing as how the last time he kidnapped you was in your own home, you can understand why I'm still concerned." Oliver grunted. "The guy was unhinged."

"Yes, I agree," Felicity told him as she gently squeezed his hand. "I wasn't trying to hide the letters, I promise, I haven't even read them."

"You do understand why I'm concerned about him reaching out to you?" He asked.

"Yes, you want to make sure I'm safe," she said with a warm smile. "I feel very fortunate to have such a loving and protective boyfriend."

Oliver turned to look at her, before looking back at the road. He did love her, and if anything happened to her he didn't know how he would react. Not well, probably.

"If it makes you feel any better, I will take the box to Captain Lance tomorrow and see what he says." Felicity offered as he pulled the car over to the side of the road to park. "Maybe I can look into getting a restraining order, too, if it makes you feel better."

"Would you also take John to work with you tomorrow?" He asked, figuring that a little extra protection wouldn't hurt.

Felicity gave a slight nod before grabbing her purse and exiting the car.

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><p>He knew that Felicity wouldn't approve of what he was about to do. She made it clear the night before that she would take the letters to the police, and even ok'd taking John to work with her as a bodyguard. She thought it was overkill for 'a couple letters' but he and John thought it a good practice.<p>

Oliver didn't trust the current situation to not escalate. Felicity had a tendency to downplay her role on the team and not fully comprehend the gravity of their situation. Oliver wondered if she even realized how important she was - How the team wouldn't function without her. Or how he wouldn't function without her.

He didn't tell her as he dropped her off that morning that his plan was to go to Iron Heights and meet with Cooper. Roy had suggested going as the Arrow and Arsenal to make a lasting impression, but Oliver knew that he was perfectly capable of leaving a mark without using an arrow.

He did, however, need a way in.

"You know that she's going to have some choice words when she finds out what you're doing?" Laurel asked as she leafed through the pile of forms in front of her, the forms granting Oliver 'special permission' from Starling City's ADA to visit the cybercriminal. "I got to know her while you were gone, I care about her too, and she is going to use her loud voice when she finds out."

"I'll remember that the next time she's being held at gunpoint," Oliver said as he dug his hands into his pockets.

"Oliver Queen?" Oliver lifted his gaze to the security guard standing in the entrance way, waiting for him to enter.

Oliver didn't look back to see Laurel's face as he followed the guard to an empty room with a few tables and chairs. He needed Laurel's signature to assure that he was granted this room, one without a glass partition to keep the prisoners separated from the visitors – the glass meant to keep the visitors safe. He wanted one where he could demonstrate to Cooper just what kind of man he was dealing with.

Oliver wanted to make a point. Felicity Smoak was off limits.

When Cooper Sheldon, dressed in a grey jumpsuit, entered the room he looked confused. Certainly he didn't understand why a former billionaire would want to visit him in lock up. The guard escorting Cooper guided him to a seat across from Oliver, who sat expressionless.

"I'm assuming you are trying to figure out why I wanted to meet with you," Oliver said, not giving away any emotion.

Cooper didn't respond, but stared back at Oliver in challenge.

"We have something in common, we both came back from the dead." Cooper tipped his head to the side but did not respond. "I'm sure that while you were away, you saw some things that changed you – things that made you question who you were and what was right and wrong."

Oliver watched as the corners of Cooper's lips remained in a straight line. The kid had a hell of a poker face, but Oliver could read his body language – the slight sheen of sweat forming on his brow, the way Cooper held his cuffed wrists tight together on his lap – the young man was nervous.

"You want to build a rapport with me?" Cooper asked in a monotone voice. "I don't know why you're here, but I can tell you that you and I are nothing alike, so why don't you get to your point?"

Oliver placed both hands on the table as he leaned forward in his chair to speak.

"That's where you're right, Cooper." Oliver kept his voice calm, neutral. "You and are I nothing alike. You spent five years with the NSA hunting criminals only to become one, while I spent five years fighting to survive on a deserted island – doing the unimaginable on a daily basis." Oliver paused to let his unsaid words sink in. "My time away taught me something important and that's the protection of those closest to me."

Cooper sat back in his chair, seemingly distancing himself from Oliver.

"You see, there is a person in my life who means a great deal to me. I would even go so far as to say that she is my family." Oliver leaned forward as he spoke. "I will go to whatever lengths necessary to protect my family."

"You're here about Felicity? You're her boyfriend." Cooper asked, somewhat amused. "Are you jealous, or something? Jealous of what we had?"

"Cooper, you and I know very well that Felicity is her own person, and is very capable of making her own decisions." Oliver wasn't here for Felicity, not really. "We both know that what you had is long since over."

Her safety was paramount, yes, but Oliver wanted the opportunity to let Cooper Sheldon know just who he was dealing with if he ever went near Felicity again. That night, Felicity had proven once again how capable she was, how strong she was, but she deprived him the pleasure of putting the fear of God, or even an arrow, into the man in front of him.

"That fact that you are here just proves that you see me as a threat," Cooper said as his face became smug. "You know that I could take her away from you."

"You're right, you are a threat," Oliver shrugged. "But you will not take her away from me, and if you try there will be no place that you could go on this planet that I would not find you," Oliver said with a lowered voice. "You think because you're smart that you have the upper hand? Look around, Cooper. Where's your guard?"

Oliver held back a grin as Cooper tried to remain inconspicuous, glancing around the room for help, fear filling his eyes.

"You lucked out that night." Oliver told him truthfully. "The Arrow would have killed you for laying a finger on her, but she spared you. Now me, I'm not as easily swayed. Remember, I've had to do a lot to survive," Oliver said as he pushed himself out from the table. "Don't think my love for Felicity would keep you alive if you went too far."

Oliver stood to his full height, towering over the man below him. In his prison attire, the man in front of him looked like no more than a boy. In a way, Oliver felt bad for him. Oliver had been where he was, in a way. He had seen the darkest side of humanity, and had been very close to pursuing it.

But Oliver had had a purpose, a mission. He had a light, still inside of him, making him a hero.

"Next time you think about Felicity or feel the urge to write her a letter, stop and think of this moment." Cooper looked over his shoulder once again, Oliver saw, willing the guard to come into the room. "Remember the fact that I can get to you, no matter where you are, or how protected you may feel, and I will kill you without even blinking an eye."

Oliver didn't wait for a response as he turned to leave the room. Part of him wanted to turn around and break at least one of Cooper's bones, but he stopped himself. The night Cooper abducted Felicity, Oliver hadn't been able to let loose the fury building beneath the surface. He had remained a hero that night. Felicity helped him do that by disabling Cooper before he could kill him.

She kept him a hero, and didn't let him go back on his vow.

Cooper had been spared, and the boy needed to realize what a gift Felicity had given him. In return, Cooper needed to fade away into the background, or that gift would expire.

And it wouldn't be a hero in a hood, with a bow and arrow, that took his life. It would be a man who would do anything to protect the woman he loved – no matter the cost.


	16. Meet the Parents

**_Olicity Prompt: There Son/Daughter comes home and they just got engaged._**

**AN: I had a lot of fun with this one, and it turned out much more silly than I planned. I hope the characters aren't too OOC.**

**This has only been edited a little bit. I'm having computer issues, so I'm posting it before I lose it, and then will edit it later today. My apologies for poor grammar or spelling.**

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><p>"Did you get the chocolate chip mint ice cream?" Felicity asked as she hurried around the kitchen, moving from boiling pot to simmering pan in the blink of an eye.<p>

Oliver wanted to tell her to calm down but he didn't think that type of comment would be well received considering the current situation. Their first born, their Hope, was bringing a boy home. While younger son had had his fair share of failed romances, which all included at least one family dinner, Hope had never brought anyone home.

Tommy would joke that his older sister would bring someone home when she was going to marry them. Which was what prompted Felicity's obsessive need to make the night perfect, from the appetizer to the dessert – Hope's favorite ice cream.

"Felicity, you know that Hope and … Jared," he said as he felt his hand subconsciously tense on the kitchen island. "Hope will be happy with whatever you make."

"But this is a special night," Felicity said with frustration as she turned to chastise Oliver. "Tommy said so himself."

"You are seriously taking the word of our eighteen year old son who just yesterday tried to get out of his English assignment by telling his teacher that his dog ate his homework? That son?"

"Ok, you laugh now, but Tommy almost got that teacher to believe him, and that's something." Felicity pointed out before moving to stand next to Oliver at the island. "You really don't think that Hope is coming home engaged or married?"

Oliver gave a slight chuckle before wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulder. "If anyone knows their daughter, it's me." He boasted. "Hope would have told us if this relationship was serious."

"So you are not worried at all?" Felicity asked, arching an eyebrow at him. "Like, not at all?"

"Not even slightly," he told her confidently. "You'll see, everything will be fine."

"Oliver," Felicity said as she pulled away slightly. "You're not that good of a liar. I know you invited Roy and John over tonight to scare Jared."

Oliver picked up a small piece of carrot from the cutting board before popping it into his mouth with an innocent expression on his face. Felicity continued to cut him the same look she often gave him when she knew he was hiding something.

"I invited Roy, Dig, Thea, and Lyla because they are our family," he said with emphasis. "I think family is important."

"Ha!" Felicity laughed before turning back to the stove. "The more you say, the less I believe you."

Oliver shook his head at his wife, a small grin on his lips.

"You should believe me," he said while reaching for another piece of carrot before Felicity used her wooden spoon to lightly smack his hand away. "I'm sure it does help me feel more at ease knowing that everyone in the room is trained in various weaponry and espionage tactics."

Now it was Felicity's turn to shake her head. "You're ridiculous."

"Tell me you didn't run an extremely thorough background check on this kid?" Oliver challenged his wife.

"That's not fair," Felicity said as she took the dinner rolls out of the oven. "I always run background checks on all the kids' dates. That's good parenting."

"And inviting Hope's aunts and uncles to dinner is not?" Oliver questioned as he eyed the steaming hot rolls that Felicity placed on the island next to him.

"What I do is not invasive and less scary." She pointed out with a red oven mitt on her hand.

"Not invasive?" Oliver deadpanned. "You run an unauthorized background check on a person."

"Yeah, but I don't sit at the dinner table, sharpening an arrow to scare them." As she spoke, oven mitt waving in the air, she began moving the rolls from the baking sheet to the wire racks to cool.

Oliver knew that if their lives were normal, then this conversation would have been overkill. Being married to the Green Arrow of Starling City proved to be dangerous for Felicity, and once they had had Hope and Tommy, it became more hazardous. Suddenly, the Green Arrow had three very big weak spots that would cripple him.

Keeping Felicity, Hope, and Tommy safe were his first priority, always.

"Are you two arguing over who is the scarier parent?" Tommy asked as he entered the kitchen, a baseball in hand.

Tommy was a surprise, literally. After Hope was born, Oliver and Felicity agreed that they wouldn't try for more children. They had Connor, who lived with his mother and spent two weekends a month, and a couple weekends over the winter and summer holidays with them, and now an infant Hope. They were content with their small family.

Then right after Hope's seventh birthday Felicity found out that she was pregnant again. Eight months later, Thomas Johnathon Queen was born.

"No," Felicity said as Oliver declared "Yes."

"I don't see why you two are arguing over this," Tommy told them with a shrug. "Mom definitely wins, hands down."

"Hey," Oliver said in objection, although he knew that Felicity could be pretty ruthless when she wanted to be.

"Sorry dad. You're the obvious choice." Tommy smirked. "People can tell just by looking at you that you could potentially kill them with your bare hands. That's why I always had such good progress reports on parent teacher conference days," Tommy said with a wide smile. "But mom. Mom has scary down to an art. She can be so nice and sweet, yet cut you off at the knees while wearing a smile. It's truly terrifying."

"I'm not quite sure how I feel about your assessment of us." Felicity stopped stirring to turn and stare at her youngest son.

"Well, you use your super powers for good not evil, so I'd say proud." He winked as he reached for a dinner roll on the cooling rack.

"So, Tommy," Oliver said as he looked over Tommy's head at Felicity. "What do you know about this Jared guy?"

"Oliver," Felicity said in warning.

"Hope hasn't said much," Tommy began. One thing about their son that they both knew was that he could not keep a secret outside of the family business. "Just that she met him in line at a coffee shop off of campus. If you want real information, you should ask Connor."

"How does your brother have more information?" Felicity asked, startled.

Connor lived in Central City and often traveled for work, but he hadn't heard about Connor going to Coast City to visit Hope lately. The fact that her children were now keeping secrets was not something she enjoyed. During childhood, Hope and Connor were particularly close, but they never kept secrets from their parents. Secrets could be dangerous in their lives.

"Connor went to visit Hope a couple weeks ago, and met him." Tommy informed his parents. "Said he's a nice guy, crazy about Hope – Not like Carrie Cutter kind of crazy – Normal crazy. Connor told me that Jared is also planning on asking dad a special question while he's here. The kind of question that involves Hope's left hand, if you know what I mean."

"And you are just telling us this now?" Oliver asked in frustration. He also never knew his children to keep a secret.

"You didn't ask," Tommy shrugged, innocently.

Oliver glanced around Tommy to look at Felicity who was remaining quiet. She was probably thinking the same thing. Why all the secrets? What was wrong with this Jared guy that none of their children were telling them about him?

"They can't be getting engaged, they've only just started dating," Felicity said with a shake of her head, clearing her mind of possible dangers while feeling more at ease with the number of heroes eating dinner in their home that night.

"I wouldn't say that," Tommy said with a wince.

"Tommy," Oliver said in warning.

"A little birdy told me that they've been dating for about eight months now." Tommy let out in a rush, taking a deep breath when the words were out.

"Eight months!" Both parents said in unison.

"Hope was home a few months ago and she never mentioned any of this." Felicity was shocked, Hope was noticeably closer to Oliver, but she still told her mother everything.

"She probably wanted to be sure that she could scrub his background check of all his nefarious, villainous activity before mom ran one. Or ooh, he's a supervillain. A forbidden romance type of thing," Tommy said with a laugh before glancing at his parents unamused expressions. "Not a good time to joke? Ok cool, I'll just be over here."

"I'm calling Connor," Oliver said in agitation.

If his children were hiding something he was going straight to the oldest and getting to the bottom of it.

"Oliver, wait. Hope didn't tell us for a reason." Felicity interrupted her husband before he could begin dialing Connor's number on the phone.

"One that we will be sure to discuss when she arrives." Oliver warned, his voice dropping two octaves to border his Green Arrow voice.

"Oliver, let's trust our daughter." Felicity moved to place a hand on his shoulder in comfort. "She is an adult and has good judgment."

"Weren't you just freaking out a few minutes ago?" Oliver asked, feeling frustrated.

"Yes, but I'm trying to do like Tommy said. I'm being calm and reasonable ... so if this kid is mixed up in something, I can ruin him in every way, shape, and form." She told him with a smile.

"You're so hot when you get all protective," Oliver chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Felicity's waist, pulling her flush against him.

"Ugh, you guys are so gross, and oddly enough, perfect for each other." Tommy muttered with feigned disgust as he began to leave the room.

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><p>Thank you for reading!<p> 


	17. To Start Living Again

_**Ughswegly asked: I don't know if you are still doing Olicity prompts but I love your writing so I was wondering if you could write one where Oliver finds out Felicity self harms and is really upset because he tries to protect her from everything but he can't protect her from herself? Something like that :)**_

**Two posts in one day, Happy Tuesday! I hope you all like it, although I did try to follow the canon of the season, so it takes place post 3x09. I wanted to do this topic justice as well as focus on Felicity's journey, so this was definitely a challenge.**

**Important Warnings: Angst, Mentions of Self-harm, Grief, Depression**

It came and went in waves, as cliché as that was.

It was a gentle throb at the base of her neck when she tried to concentrate on work, or a heavy pressure in her chest when she saw a man kiss a woman's forehead on TV or couples holding hands on the street.

It was the feeling of twenty punches landing firmly to her abdomen, leaving her breathless, when she saw the picture in her hallway of her, Oliver, and Diggle at Big Belly Burger.

Some days she would be ok and she could breathe easily. Her work in the lair with Diggle, Roy, and now Laurel kept her busy at night, and her work with Ray kept her busy the rest of the day. On those days she was safe and tucked away from the reality of what her life had become.

They had all tried to be there for her but none of them could really relate to what she was feeling. She was certain that she didn't even know what she was feeling, so how could they? Their efforts were valiant and their intentions were in the right place, but Felicity couldn't help the emptiness that was threatening to consume her.

So many thoughts had been running through her head, so many what if scenarios that all the grief websites told her to avoid. Those nights when she was able to sleep in her own bed instead of her chair in the foundry, or the couch of her office, she would wonder what would have happened if she found out what Merlyn had done sooner.

Would they have been able to stop Nyssa and the League of Assassins from declaring war on them? Would they have stopped Thea from killing Sara? Would Oliver still be alive?

She would fall asleep crying, tears soaking through her pillowcase, and wake up feeling exhausted. Sometimes she would wake with images of a hurt Oliver fresh in her mind, bloody and broken.

Had someone been there with him, in the end? Did someone hold his hand as the light began to dim behind his eyes? What had happened to his body? They hadn't been able to give him a proper burial or goodbye.

The nights also filled with dreams of a living Oliver, her hero in green leather, jumping from rooftops, and protecting the city were the hardest. She would wake up feeling hope, for the first time days, weeks even.

The belief that Oliver had survived, that he was just at the loft with Thea, was so strong that for five minutes after waking she would feel lighter than the previous days. Sometimes she would make it all the way to the shower before she realized the truth.

The dream from the night before would vanish, leaving her doubled over in her bathtub, sobs tearing through her, same as the night she first heard the news.

How could he have been there one minute, telling her he loved her, and then gone the next? She hadn't even had the chance to say it back.

With each day that passed, the feelings of emptiness increased. Even though she forced herself to eat something small at meal times her appetite was all but gone. Jerry would leave small sandwiches and fruit juices on her desk, probably at Ray's urging, but still she couldn't eat more than a bite or two.

Life just hadn't been the same since Oliver left. The only thing she had to keep her moving was her work. Everything else just hurt.

"Felicity, I'm going to leave for the day," Jerry told her from the doorway of her darkened office, breaking through her clouded thoughts. "Do you need anything before I leave?"

Felicity glanced up from the monitor in front of her, pencil in her mouth and hand knotted in her head to ease the ache beginning to form behind her eyes.

Her 'dreams' hadn't been helping her sleep at night with images of a hurt Oliver had been plaguing her mind. It was easier to stay awake and focus on something productive. Her lack of sleep and miniscule appetite had been causing headaches, which made her want to sleep.

She fought it anyway.

"Thanks Jerry," she said with a sigh, moving the pencil to her other hand. "You go on home, it's way too late for you to be here."

Jerry smiled and nodded before remembering the stack of mail in his hands.

"I almost forgot, these came while you and Mr. Palmer were meeting this afternoon."

With a nod in his directions she sent the young man on his way. She'd have to buy him coffee or something for all the hard work he had been doing. She knew she couldn't have been easy to deal with as of late.

While she contemplated what she would do to show her EA appreciation, Felicity brought her own coffee mug to her lips. It would be another long night and she needed to make some head way or else she would be falling asleep on her couch again.

As she took a sip from her mug she realized she overestimated the time she gave for it to cool. The coffee was still much too hot to drink yet.

"Damn it," Felicity cursed as the mug fell from her hands, spilling coffee on her desk and onto the floor.

The mug fell to the floor, crashing into three pieces on the marble floor, broken on impact.

It was his mug, she thought with a jolt. The mug the she had given him with his 'one' cup of coffee. The mug that he had subsequently used every morning thereafter.

It was the one thing she had been able to salvage after Slade and Isabel's reign, and take with her when she joined Palmer Technologies.

And now, just like him, it was gone too.

Begging herself not to cry as the tears began to leak down her cheeks, Felicity bent to the floor to begin to pick up the broken ceramic. It wasn't fair, she thought to herself, everything was broken.

"Sh-" Felicity broke the swear word at the tip of her tongue as she felt the cut before she saw it.

It was a slight bolt of lightning surging through her fingers, a hot trail of fresh red blood moving from her palm to her wrist. The cut wasn't even big, but she must have hit a nerve or something.

The pain was brief but it caught her attention as she began to wonder for the briefest of moments what it would be like to make her pain go away … or even for it to just make sense. A cut on the hand made sense – a paper cut made sense, a scratch made sense, a cut from broken glass made sense – it was something she could inevitably control.

A blade through the chest did not make sense.

The past few months hadn't made any sense and had left her feeling as though she didn't have any control. Her life had been spinning ever since Oliver walked away from her in the foundry. To be honest it started when Sara was sent falling from a rooftop full of arrows, but it amplified with Oliver.

Felicity was used to being in control of her life, of having the intelligence and power necessary to beat whatever they were facing. She had been able to find solutions to problems ever since she was a child.

Together, as a team, they were only stronger. Now they were fractured, and couldn't save anything. They couldn't save Oliver – She couldn't save Oliver.

Glancing down at the piece of broken mug in her hand, wishing for her pain to go away, she saw it. A glimmer of movement out of the corner of her eye.

She lifted her tearful gaze, hoping it wasn't Jerry who had returned to grab something and found his boss sitting on the floor, crying in a puddle of black coffee.

When her eyes lifted she had to look away. This must be what it's like to lose your grip on reality, she thought sardonically. There in the entryway stood Oliver, or should she say the Arrow, covered in leather with his quiver wrapped around his shoulder.

"Oliv-" Breaking off she looked down at her hand and shook the thoughts from her head. "No, you're sleep deprived and hungry, and you are having hallucinations." Felicity told herself before shutting her eyes tighter, forcing a few stray tears to leak through her lids at the pressure.

But once she opened them, the Arrow still stood across from her, in the door way to her office.

Letting a light, almost frantic laugh through her lips, Felicity let the pieces fall to the ground before bringing her injured hand to her lips.

"You're here," she whispered, hope swelling in her chest. "You're really here, aren't you?"

Felicity brought her other hand to the desk beside her to help balance herself as she moved to her feet.

He didn't say anything like Oliver would have. She knew it couldn't have been him, not really. She saw the sword that killed him, she tested the blood on the blade. Even if he had survived, he hadn't made contact. Oliver wouldn't have left them to wonder. The image in front of her was not Oliver.

When she imagined him coming home, she would picture him smiling and pulling her flush against him as he let his lips linger on her forehead and cheek while she inhaled his scent. He would tell her it was ok and that he was there.

She imagined his rough, calloused hands rubbing circle along her back and racing up and down her arms, assuring her that he was home. Her hands wouldn't have been idle either as they traced the outline of each scar beneath his Henley. She imagined how she would react as well – happy, angry that he had been gone for so long, but mostly happy.

But this was different.

The Arrow, not Oliver, simply stood in his spot on the marble floor, staring at her, gaze fixed on her hand. Felicity glanced down at her injured hand to see the blood pooling. When she looked back to him, her eyes meeting his, she only found sadness.

"I," she said before pausing, her mouth hanging open, as she struggled for words. "I don't know what to do, Oliver."

The tears came quickly then, falling in small rivulets down her cheeks.

"You're gone and it hurts," she cried while bring her uninjured hand to swipe at the traitorous tears. "You're gone, but you should be here."

The Arrow didn't move from his spot, eyes on her as she moved from her desk to the couch near the door. The pain she had been struggling with, and the exhaustion she had been fighting, all beginning to take their toll.

"You left, and I can't do this, I thought I could." She let her head fall to the back of the couch before shifting in her seat to following him with her eyes. "I thought that by distancing myself it would hurt less when 'this' happened. You said you were going to die down there, and I didn't want to be there for that."

At this the Arrow moved from the doorway to the chair across from her, still sullen, still focused.

"I didn't want to feel like my life was over just because you were gone. I wanted to be stronger, and I wanted to live." Felicity cried as she struggled to inhale over her tears. "What I really wanted was to live with you, but you're gone."

The image in front of Felicity didn't move or speak. He simply stared at her with eyes full of sorrow. Looking at him now Felicity just wanted to curl up in his arms and have the past few months be a terrible dream. She wanted him to protect her again, like he always had. Felicity felt the ache in her chest begin to grow, causing her breathing to become shallow.

She need him, more than she ever thought she would need another person. Oliver had been her best friend next to John. She missed her best friend.

"I don't know how to do this Oliver, I don't know how to live without you there. You changed my life in so many ways and I just I can't imagine my world without you there. Without you here."

The Arrow didn't say anything, not that she expected he would.

"Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?" She asked, only feeling slightly foolish for asking her hallucination to stay.

With her eyes fixed on the Arrow in front of her, piercing eyes meeting her own, she was able to drift off to a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, waking to an empty office, the sun streaming in through the open panes of glass, Felicity felt more empty than she thought possible.

Gazing down at her injured hand, the dried blood having caked over the wound, she took a deep breath. She couldn't count on Oliver to save her from this. He wouldn't be there to bring her back to herself. If Felicity wanted things to change, to be whole again, she would need to save herself this time.

"Hey Felicity," Jerry said with a chipper smile as he set down his leather briefcase beside his desk, unaware that Felicity was only just now waking up.

"Hey Jerry," she mumbled out as she looked around the office. "I'm going to take the day off, a personal day."

Jerry looked up from where he was typing in his log in information with a confused expression. Felicity never took days off, only one when her mother was in town.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Felicity didn't look back as she grabbed her purse and headed for the executive elevator.

Two hours later she sat in the office of one Dr. Janine Fitzwilliam, Psychologist. Felicity knew, no matter how hard it would be, it was time to take her life back, and start living again.

Thank you for reading!


	18. Her Choice

_**Prompt- Oliver gets his company back Ray wants Felicity to move away with him Oliver tells her to go**_

**AN: Thank you all so much for your feedback, favs, and follows. A question that has been raised a couple chapters ago was about me continuing on certain prompts. Honestly, as much as I would love to make each prompt it's own full blown multi-chapter story, some prompts don't inspire me in that way. Some are short drabbles that may take on an interesting perspective on the prompt, amd others may be longer one shots. I've only had two prompts so far that have made me want to make them a story, and only one of which will become a longer story. **

**It really all depends on where my inspiration is. The majority of these prompts are fun little worlds to visit, but that's all for now. I do appreciate knowing that those of you reading want more, and enjoy the atmosphere created. I really appreciate the feedback!**

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><p>"You really want me to leave?" Felicity had asked, breath held as she waited for his answer.<p>

He knew, realistically, that asking her to stay wouldn't fix them. He was different from when he left, different even from when they met. It was unfair of him to ask her to stay with him now, not when she had already done so much.

Asking her to stay, with him, would have only hurt her in the long run. Felicity had given up bits of herself along the way – parts of her social life, having friends, telling lies to those closest to her. Felicity had made her life about him and his secrets, she put her promising career on hold because he willed it.

No, he needed to give her a chance at having a happy life. One that wasn't filled with pain, blood, and tears, or dates that ended in exploding restaurants.

Ray Palmer could give her that. He could give her normal.

Oliver loved Felicity, and he knew that she would be better off without him.

"Yes," he gritted out, pursing his lips once the dreaded lie was out of his mouth. "I want you to leave."

"I don't believe you," she said as she took a careful step towards him. "I don't believe that after everything, you're just going to sit there and tell me to leave."

"After everything … Believe me when I say that you taking this job would be the best thing for you." Oliver knew that the defeat was evident in his voice, and while he didn't want to make this decision harder on her, he wanted to be selfish with her. "You deserve to have a chance at something normal. Something safe."

Felicity took a moment to let his words sink in before her puzzled expression changed to one of fury.

"You are full of shit, Oliver Queen." She fired at him, anchoring her feet to the spot where she stood. "Telling me what I deserve, and what I should have before you dismiss me from the team like you're the one who can make that choice."

"Felicity, that's not what I'm trying to do." Oliver huffed as he watched her face fill with anger.

"But it's what you're doing," she said with a fire building steadily in her stomach. "You keep pulling me in, and then pushing me away when things start to get rough, or dangerous, like I'm some child that needs to be protected. You make all these decisions for me as if I am incapable of doing it for myself."

Oliver watched as she took two calculated steps towards where he stood, her voice dropping as she did. He could almost feel the underlying tone her voice, her pleading with him to really see what he was doing. She wanted him to see that pushing her away wasn't helping him, and it certainly wouldn't help her.

"You're right," he said, moving his gaze from her to the glass case beside him. "This is why you need to leave. You need to find a place where you can make these decisions for yourself without me to interfere."

"Oh God, do you even hear yourself right now?" She challenged. "I do make my own decisions, Oliver. I have always made my own decisions about my life." At this Oliver raise his eyes to meet hers in question. "I could have left any number of times, get a new job, move away from Starling City, and I helped you anyway. You act like an ass, and I push back."

As she took another step towards him, Oliver watched her lift the corners of her mouth in a small smile. He wanted to smile with her, forget for one moment their argument, and just smile. She made him want to smile.

"Felicity," he said as the urge to forget what they were talking about faded from his mind.

Images of all the things that could happen to her ran through his mind – all the things that could take her away from him – and this was his best choice. He would rather lose her to Ray Palmer and his fancy gadgets then some criminal with a vendetta.

"No," she said in a calm voice while reaching forward to grip his bicep. "You need to stop. When I told you that Ray offered me the job, your response was supposed to be 'well, isn't that interesting, Felicity. What would you like to do?' Not, 'good, leave.'"

Oliver opened his mouth to object her word usage, but with a simple squeeze to his arm he was halted. She looked up at him with those brilliantly, blue eyes, the ones that he would just stare at for hours if he could.

She didn't smile at him, didn't try to encourage him, she just stared at him. Any form of argument had been paused as the fire that had been burning only seconds earlier, had left them with only a bitter aftertaste.

"I've made my choice, I make it every day when I come down here and work with you and John regardless of everything else that's going on in our lives." Felicity squeezed his arm one last time before taking a step back, losing contact as she did. "I am my own person Oliver and I choose to stay. Here. With you."

"I don't want this life to hurt you." He bit out with closed eyes, the loss of her touch bringing him back to his earlier fears.

He knew she could take care of herself, he did, but he also knew how easy it would be for someone to take her away. Hadn't they suffered enough losses to know that by now?

"But it's my choice. That's what you're missing here," she said with a shake of her head before picking up her purse from the table beside her.

"So you're staying?" Oliver asked with a sigh, feeling a bittersweet mixture of happiness and frustration churn in his stomach, but most of all hope.

"I'm staying," she said definitively, leaving him no room to object. "But Oliver, this needs to stop. Whether you love me or not, you have to stop pushing me away when you think you know what's best." He watched her take another step towards him, her mouth set in a firm line. "You told me that we're partners, so treat me like one."

Oliver nodded, mouth pursed, as she walked past him and out of the foundry.

A week later, Ray Palmer left Starling City and Palmer Technologies behind as he headed to New York City – alone.


	19. He Would Always Find Her

_**Olicity prompt: The Bratva threaten Felicity, not realizing her relationship woth Oliver  
><strong>_

_**Anonymous said: Olicity prompt: Some members of Bratva try to establish dominance by kidnapping Felicity; while she was never really afraid, Oliver has never been so scared in his life.**_

**AN: So this prompt was very similar to another prompt I received so I decided to combine them together. Thank you to the two anons (possibly one, not sure ;-) for the wonderful prompts. My apologies for taking so long to get to them. I do hope you enjoy. **

**Not knowing where this next half of the season is taking us, I based this one _loosely_ after Oliver returns to the group with some of the speculation about the return of some season1!Oliver with some protective!Oliver mixed in.**

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><p><em>It had started only a week ago<em>, Oliver thought to himself as he sat in her chair, head in his hands.

During his absence the Bratva members of Starling City had moved to make a power play over the organized crime structure. The combined forces of the Arrow and the SCPD had been overthrowing each organization strategically until Oliver had gone missing. The police force hadn't been enough to control each crime family as they all took the Arrow's absence to their advantage.

The team, led by Roy, had done their best, but in the end it had been Ray Palmer's 'Star City' initiative that had been the linchpin to getting the city back in order. Ray, and subsequently Felicity, provided valuable resources to the SCPD and had even donated funds and equipment to the team – while not knowing who he was donating to.

Palmer Technologies was quickly taking a foothold in lowering the crime rates one technological advancement at a time.

It didn't take long for the Bratva, who had been playing it smart and laying low, to figure out the role that Felicity played. While Ray made the donations, Felicity was strategically dismantling each organization with a few simple keystrokes.

She was making a lot of very powerful men, very angry. It wasn't much different from what she had done while working with him, the only difference being that Palmer was a boy in comparison. Sure, he had the drive to be a hero – a champion for the city – but he didn't have the experience and training that Oliver, Diggle, and even Roy had.

Palmer was playing with matches, and had unintentionally set Felicity on fire. At least that was how Oliver viewed it. He knew all too well how in control of her own fate Felicity was, and how determined she was to do what was right.

He also knew how stubborn she he had always found a way to keep her safe, for the most part.

When the letters and packages started coming he had only just returned to the city. He had been raw and beaten – a different man from the one who left. In a way he understood why she didn't come to him.

The Bratva had been playing it subtle, it appeared. Tailing Felicity to and from Palmer Technologies while keeping track of her daily routine.

Felicity hadn't been stupid though. She had seen what was happening and had asked Diggle to be her bodyguard while she gathered more information – proof – to hand over to Captain Lance, while keeping the newly returned Oliver out of it.

Felicity put the patterns and the small letters she had received at work together and ran a trace. The Bratva were on her very short list of suspects.

Diggle had only been with Felicity all of five hours when she was separated from him in the Palmer Technologies cafeteria.

Diggle didn't understand how it could happen, how they could have gotten through the security station and through his diligent watch. He had only just turned his head to verify the security of the room and then she was gone. It happened too fast.

Oliver had been training in the lair when he got the call from Dig, saying that Felicity had been taken.

"Why wasn't I told?" He asked as Diggle paced in front of him, twenty minutes later, Roy leaning against one of the cool, metal tables.

"She didn't want to bring this up, not so soon after you got home," Diggle said in defense, although his voice was weak. "I called Lyla, and she is working on tasking an A.R.G.U.S. satellite to locate their position."

"Don't bother," Oliver scolded as he stood to his feet, anger radiating off of him. "I should have been told."

"Give Dig a break." Roy interrupted as he pushed himself off of the table. "Felicity didn't want to tell you for a reason."

"And she's been kidnapped, so you want to try again?" Oliver argued.

The men knew that Oliver came home … different. They weren't sure what he had gone through after he walked out of the foundry doors that night, but they knew that the man who returned wasn't the same. He was harder, more battle worn.

"We want to find her too," Diggle said in a calm voice – much more at ease than he felt. "Do you still have any contacts in the Bratva? Maybe if they realize who she is, they'll let her go?"

Oliver shook his head as he brought his hands up to rub against his face, as if he could wipe away the frustration and terror he was feeling. He felt the buzz of anxiety vibrating beneath his skin, the desire to rip someone apart, piece by piece. It was the only solution he could see to get Felicity back.

"I don't think me asking for a favor will get us anywhere seeing as how I was denounced by Alexi," he said in reference to when he used their resources to find Slade. "It might just make matters worse."

"We have to do something," Roy muttered as he moved towards Felicity's computers.

As Oliver looked to John, who held the same fear in his eyes, he realized just how much guilt his friend must have been feeling. Diggle was supposed to protect her, and he failed.

Oliver knew that feeling.

"Hey guys," Roy shouted from his spot at the computers while holding up the 'Arrow phone.' "It's Palmer."

"You have the guy on speed dial?" Oliver asked upon seeing Ray's brilliant white smile pop up on the phone.

"He gives us money, of course we have him on speed dial." Roy rolled his eyes before Oliver snatched the phone from his outstretched hand.

"Palmer?" His voice was short.

"Wow, hi, you sound a little different, maybe an octave lower or something, which I know doesn't change much because of the voice modulator, but still, wow, different."

Oliver turned to look at Diggle, frustrated glare in place. Diggle only shrugged, having been all too familiar with Ray's tendency to rant.

"Do you have any news on Felicity Smoak?"

Oliver heard Ray sigh on the other end of the line. "I received a phone call from a member of the Bratva a couple minutes ago, they've asked for a ransom."

"Good, what is it?" Oliver asked.

A ransom was good. It meant that Felicity could still be alive.

"It's a bit steep," Ray said in hesitance.

Oliver didn't understand where this hesitation was coming from. This was _Felicity_. And Palmer had money. This should be a none-issue.

"And you will pay it." Oliver asserted.

"It's not … money." Ray's voice sounded small over the phone.

Oliver brought a hand up to pinch his brow in frustration. Each minute Palmer stalled was another minute further away from Felicity. Didn't this man understand? The Bratva didn't wait for you to make up your mind before they made it for you.

"Then what is it?" Oliver gritted out.

"They want the tech specifications for a new design Felicity and I have been working on," Palmer rushed forward. "It is a _revolutionary_ way to protect the city … a new form of hero. In the wrong hands it would be catastrophic. No one was supposed to know about this, it was on an encrypted file that only Felicity and I had access too."

"How would they have known about this information then?" Oliver wasn't sure he wanted to know that answer.

The Bratva he knew would have placed an associate at Palmer Technologies to gain high level secrets. They would just kidnap the highest level executive they could get their hands on and torture them for no other reason than to get what they wanted. Right now, the Bratva wanted a way to stop Palmer and his crusade to save the city from itself.

"I don't want to speculate," Ray stuttered.

"Then don't bother," Oliver grunted.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Ray asked timidly. "You sound more surly than normal. I wouldn't say anything, with the kidnapping and all, but you sound about ready to kill someone."

"That's exactly what I'm going to do." Oliver snapped. "Did they give you coordinates to make the drop?"

"Felicity wouldn't want them to have this information." Ray backpedaled. "It could mean the end to all the progress we made these past few months, all the lives we could save, would end. Felicity wouldn't want that,"

"Do not tell me what Felicity would or would not want." Oliver demanded in a low voice, knowing that if Palmer was standing across from him that Oliver would have his hands wrapped around the other man's throat.

Yes, Felicity was better than all of them. She would want to save the city, put the lives of countless others above her own. Felicity would want to do what was right.

She was also the person who helped him to harness any light that was still left inside of him. She helped him find his humanity. Now he was being would find another "revolutionary" way to save the city.

He would not lose her when he was so close to getting her back.

"Oliver," Diggle said in warning.

"Send the coordinates and plans to this device." Oliver shook himself back to reality. "I will take care of the rest."

"This isn't Arsenal, is it?" Palmer asked. "It's you … the Arrow."

"You have ten minutes to send me that information or I will put an arrow in your chest."

Oliver didn't have to look to know that Diggle was sending him a disapproving look. They normally didn't threaten people who were trying to help them.

"Don't you think that was a tad bit dramatic?" Roy asked. "The guy was helping us out."

Oliver didn't turn to look at either before moving to his suit.

The coordinates that Palmer received weren't far away from the garage that Alexi operated out of. It was an 'abandoned' warehouse on the outskirts of the glades used for confidential deals between members.

Oliver didn't care much for playing by his old set of rules, but Dig made him agree to calling in Captain Lance. They had come too far to revert back to old ways. It wasn't just Oliver's mission now and the Arrow stood for too much to lose it all for revenge.

Diggle and Roy took the back entrance while Oliver swooped in from above. The program that they had been able to use showed different heat signatures throughout the building. One most notably being still while another paced five feet away.

Oliver swung through a window on the top floor of the building while Diggle and Roy went for a more stealth approach below, taking down the sentries set at the exits.

The only thing that stopped Oliver from killing the men that got in his way as he walked down the hall, was the thought that this wasn't who he was – not to Felicity. So he disabled them, with the promise that if they got back up he would put an arrow between their eyes. There would be no second chances this time.

The man guarding Felicity proved that testament. As Oliver kicked in the door, arrow notched in his bow, ready to aim, the man with the gun began to raise his weapon in Felicity's direction.

Oliver didn't give it a second though as the arrow flew through the air before piercing the man's sternum.

"Felicity?" Oliver lowered his weapon to gaze upon the woman, tied to a chair, in front of him.

She had her head lowered, and appeared to be wincing. The thought of her in pain momentarily paralyzed him.

"Oh, thank god, it's you." she breathed out as she lifted her head in relief. "Quick, untie me before they come back."

Oliver let out a breath as he took a step towards her. As she lifted her face in full light Oliver noticed something out of place.

His temporary relief that she had been ok was now replaced with rage at the sight of her with a bloody lip, cut cheek, and bruised eye.

"You're hurt," he growled.

"Only minimally." She shrugged. "I knew you would find me, I just had to stall long enough that they didn't thinkI was giving up the information too easily and put a bullet in my head. Your Russian friends here … not as good a conversationalists as Anatoly."

Using a small knife from his pants pocket, he released her bound wrists, pulling them into his own hands. Her skin was visibly irritated from where the zip ties had bound her wrists together behind her back.

"Where else are you hurt?" He asked as he brought a hand up to gently caress her injured cheek.

For the briefest of seconds he was back to a little over a year earlier, the first time he broke his vow for her. She hadn't been physically injured that night, but it was clear that she was not alright. That night she had cupped his shoulder, more focused on his pain than her own. She had apologized to him, for making him kill for her. He had looked into her eyes and told her the one absolute truth – there was no choice to make.

Tonight, just like that night – before Slade, before their first date gone bad, and Sara being murdered, before Malcolm Merlyn rose from the dead, and before the League of Assassins took him away from her – he knew in absolute certainty that she was more important than any vow. He would do whatever it took to keep her alive and safe.

And from the way she was staring into his, he knew that she would always trust him to save her.

"Oliver seriously," she stuttered out. "You can frisk me later, that didn't come out right." She groaned. "Let's go."

He felt her begin to pull away from his hold, slowly, as if she didn't want to let go, but had to at the same time.

"Felicity," he said, although he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say next.

She shook her head, her cue for him to stop whatever he was going to say next. Either what he was going to say was too painful for her to hear, or she wasn't ready to hear it yet.

Felicity reached out to grasp his bicep, opening her eyes with a smile.

"I knew you would find me."

She was right. He would always find her.


	20. Should have Protected Her

_**Anonymous asked: Felicity leaving Team Arrow and Oliver going nuts over it and losing his temper and destroying things? Kinda regressing to the Hood, big and bad? Happy Olicity end though! Please?**_

**AN:Thank you everyone for all the love you're showing this story! So it's not quite what the prompt asked for, but I do hope you enjoy it! I had a blast writing it.**

_**Major Angst warning ahead.**_

* * *

><p>The steady chirping of monitors was the only sound in the otherwise silent room as Oliver and Diggle sat beside the starched white hospital bed. The vast array of machinery was lined against the wall, each connected to another wire, or tube, that wound its way in small loops to their end points.<p>

Their destination was a fragile looking Felicity, who lay immobile in the bed before them. Neither man moved from their spots beside her since she had come out of surgery only a few hours prior.

Oliver would shift in his chair from time to time, as each new sound would set him straighter, more vigilant, for a change in her condition, but would only result in subsequent disappointment.

Diggle took a deep breath as he heard the shift nurse approach the room with her mobile cart of supplies. By now they were well versed in the procedure, and the night nurses knew to leave the men where they sat.

After Oliver had 'growled' at the first nurse who tried to remove them from the room for the exam and vitals check, word had spread.

"Good morning, Mr. Diggle," the nurse from the night before greeted with a tone of sympathy in her voice before turning to Oliver.

Oliver didn't acknowledge anyone that came into the room. If the current circumstance wasn't what it was, Diggle would have found Oliver's tantrum amusing – like a five year old who was told they couldn't have dessert before dinner – but the situation was what it was, and Felicity remained unmoving in that bed.

"What time is it?" John asked as he took a moment to stretch in his chair.

"It's about ten thirty in the morning," she told him with a small smile while she moved towards Felicity with her stethoscope in hand. "The cafeteria is open downstairs, and they have much better coffee than the old vending machine down the hall if you two need a little jolt of caffeine."

Diggle looked to Oliver who kept his eyes fixed on Felicity. He knew that Oliver wouldn't leave her side, and he couldn't leave Oliver's side.

It had taken both him and Roy to calm Oliver down the night before when they first came to the waiting room. The only way to keep Oliver in the room, and away from the streets right now, was staying with him at all times. If Oliver couldn't be out on the streets, hunting for the person responsible, he wouldn't leave Felicity.

So John stayed.

"I think we'll pass for right now, but thank you for the information," Diggle said.

"Ok, but don't be afraid to let us know if you need anything. We are more than willing to sit with Ms. Smoak here if you need a break." Diggle watched as Oliver's glance shifted to him with a frown in place, but thankfully held any comments he might have wanted to make. "Well, would you look at those nails."

At the woman's amazed tone, Diggle glanced to see the fluorescent yellow coloring painted on Felicity's nails with various chips around the edges most likely from the activity the night before.

"That is such a good color on her, don't you think?" The nurse, he couldn't remember her name, asked him with a wink. "I always wanted to try something adventurous like that, but I chicken out in the aisle of the store."

"It's kind of her thing," Diggle murmured as he felt himself begin to smile.

"She must have quite the spirited personality," the nurse said as she began to take Felicity's blood pressure.

"Yeah, she does." Diggle nodded.

Spirited – it was one way to describe Felicity. Strong, fierce, brave, funny, and remarkable, were some other words, but even they didn't do her justice. From the day Oliver brought Diggle to meet Felicity there had been a click between the three of them, and at that point she hadn't known much of what they were doing. Their relationships, their team, had only grown stronger since.

Seeing her, laying in a hospital bed pale and so fragile, caused his heart to clench.

"Have you boys been talking to her?" The woman turned to him, glancing at Oliver quickly. "It's been proven that talking to patients while they are recovering is one of the best forms of medicines."

Recovering seemed like an odd term considering the circumstances. The doctor had used the words 'unresponsive to stimulus,' 'coma,' and 'critical.' She had said the nature of Felicity's condition was due to severe blood loss and the amount of times Felicity had to be resuscitated during her ride in the ambulance and in surgery.

Her body was reacting to the trauma, in other words.

They still did not know what happened the day before, or how Felicity ended up shot twice in the abdomen, at close range, and left to bleed out in an abandoned building. From what the doctors and nurses kept telling them, the Arrow found her just in time.

Any longer and Felicity's chances of survival would have dropped dramatically based on her blood loss alone.

Diggle couldn't get Oliver's panicked voice out of his head from the night before. It was one of the only times Oliver had broken his composure in front of the rest of the team. They thought she was dead and that broke the hooded hero.

_Diggle had been sitting in the lair, working comms, while Oliver and Roy suited up for the night. Laurel had already gone out, preferring to stick to a different side of town than the guys. She said she spoke to Felicity earlier in the day, and the blonde was still planning on coming to work that evening, but she had been planning on running late._

_It wasn't abnormal for Felicity to be running late these days. She had been taking on more and more work at Palmer Technologies which made it more difficult to leave by her normal eight o'clock at night hours._

_The group didn't think anything of it. Oliver did his customary sigh as Laurel told them about Felicity's marathon of meetings that day, while Roy nodded his head in agreement. They were all growing accustomed to the schedule._

_Two hours later, on what they believed was a slow night, Oliver's voice crackled over the line. He was screaming 'no' and sobbing as the three other team members tried to break through to him. At first Diggle thought it was an episode, a flashback to one of Oliver's many recent trauma's, which caused him to break down._

_The words 'Felicity' and 'shot' caused Diggle to freeze in front of the large monitor. He had been doing a visual sweep of a different intersection in the Glades, but when he switched the monitor there Oliver was, cradling an unmoving Felicity on an alley floor._

"I've had a couple patients who have woken up and could remember what people told them, or even just a general feeling of love." The nurse broke through, unaware that Diggle had been reliving the night before. "They said it really helped them wake up."

"I've heard that." Diggle nodded as he looked at Felicity's pale face. "It's just weird that she wouldn't be responding."

"Well you're not doing it to get a response," she told him as she moved to check the bags of liquid, hanging above the bed before making a note on the computerized chart. "You do it for her."

"At least we'd be doing something for her." Oliver's gravelly voice broke the calm of the room.

Diggle glanced to the nurse, who only had a warm smile on her face, not the least phased by Oliver's tone. He imagined she must have seen this before. Family members stricken by the almost loss, the wait for some improvement, all the while never really knowing if it would get better – if their loved one would come home.

"Her vitals are holding steady, she's a strong one." She spoke more to Oliver than to John that time, before turning back to him "I'll be back in a little while for another check. You let us know if you need anything, my name's Meghan by the way."

"Thank you," Diggle chocked out at Meghan's name – Felicity's middle name. "Was that really necessary?" He turned to Oliver one she was gone.

Oliver hadn't moved after they had been guided back to this room only a few hours earlier.

While Felicity had been in surgery, he had paced the floor of the waiting area like a wild animal. Diggle could see the muscles beneath his shirt, tensed and ready for a fight.

_When he arrived with the van, only a minute after Roy and seconds after Laurel, he almost couldn't move from his seat. Yes, Felicity had been shot before. Yes, she had also been in multiple dangerous situations. Yes, the life that they led made those situations a given._

_Yet, seeing her body, blood still seeping out from beneath Oliver's gloved hands, her head tipped back, eyes closed, made Diggle feel sick to his stomach. This girl was like his sister. How could anyone do this to his sister?_

_The ambulance was already on its way, had been from the moment Oliver said the words shot and Felicity in the same sentence. Roy's haggard yell to Diggle, across the alley, broke his state of shock and caused him to spring into action._

_Oliver held pressure to her wound as Diggle moved to assess her vitals. Laurel stood in the mouth of the alley, waiting for the ambulance, crying and shaking as she did. Diggle had an idea of what she was thinking, Sara. While from the looks of it, Felicity hadn't been shot full of arrows and pushed off a roof, the blood and placement of the wounds must have brought it all back for her._

_She moved to wait for the ambulance, taking Diggle's instructions. Roy however, while shaking, remained calm. He followed Dig's instructions and began chest compressions when he was told._

_Oliver, on the other hand, did not move. He kept his hands over her wounds and his eyes on her face._

_They had managed to get Oliver to change clothes on their way to the hospital, separate from the ambulance and EMTs who had to pry Felicity from his bloodied hands when they arrived on scene. The three heroes sat in the back of the van while Diggle drove, each changing out of their leathers and masks._

_They had arrived after Felicity had already been taken back to surgery. Captain Lance had heard the call over the radio and met the ambulance at the hospital. He was able to give them more information while Oliver stepped to the side of the room to call Donna Smoak, who couldn't get a flight until the next morning._

_After hanging up with Donna, it was as if a switch flipped in Oliver. He wasn't silent anymore, the shock having already begun to fade. He was pissed. It took both Roy and Diggle to block Oliver's attempts to leave and hunt the person responsible. Both telling Oliver that Felicity would want to see him when she woke up. She wouldn't want to be alone._

"If we were really doing things for Felicity," Oliver said in a low voice. "We'd be out there hunting the person who did this to her."

Diggle looked to Felicity again, their source of strength, before taking a deep breath. "Roy, Lyla, and Laurel are doing that right now." Lyla had met them at the hospital when he called. She kissed him and promised that she would find who did this, before leaving with Roy and Laurel. "If we left, she would be alone. Is that what you want?"

Diggle watched as Oliver moved a hand to Felicity's face, gently brushing her hair while grazing her cheek. Oliver's eyes began to fill as he struggled to pull in a deep breath, looking away from Felicity as he exhaled.

Oliver gripped Felicity's hand in his larger, calloused one as the mask began to go back up. Diggle shook his head as he watched Oliver close himself off.

"Fine, you can stay, I'll go," Oliver said in short as he stood to his feet

"Oliver, sit down." Diggle's voice held more exhaustion than authority.

They had been through this a few times already throughout the night. Once the men were left alone in the waiting room Oliver had threatened to run off. Diggle was sure that he would go, too, if one of the surgeons hadn't come out to tell them of Felicity's progress. Oliver stayed put before doing the same thing a few hours later.

It was becoming their habit for the night, or day as the sunlight would have it.

"You wanna make me, Dig?" Oliver challenged as Diggle stood from his seat.

"What would Felicity say?"

"Well considering some person shot her and left her to bleed out I'm pretty sure she would agree with me on this." There was a bite to his tone, a hardness that Oliver used to always have with him.

"Would she?" Diggle asked. "Or would she say that you were being reckless, and dangerous? You're not acting like yourself, man."

"I disagree." Oliver stood taller, broader, as his voice lowered to an almost menacing level.

Diggle believed him too. No matter how far Oliver had come in life, how much he separated himself from the man he once was when he returned from the island, there would always be a weakness for him – and she was lying in a hospital bed.

"So what? You gonna leave here, find the guy who did this, and then what?" Diggle asked, arms outstretched. "You gonna hand him over to Lance? Or are you going to exact some Hood-like justice on him and put an arrow in him?" Oliver turned his head away from John's gaze. That was exactly what Oliver had been planning. "I thought you were trying to do things a different way."

Oliver opened his mouth to respond, but stopped as he brought a hand up to his face. Diggle understood where Oliver was coming from. The man needed to do something besides staring at the woman he loved, fighting for her life.

"Hey guys, what are you doing?" Both men turned to see Thea walk into the room, confusion on her face and a tray of coffees in her hand.

"Thea, good timing," Diggle said as he moved away from Oliver and back to the chair he had been occupying all night.

"I figured you both haven't moved since she got out of surgery last night, so I brought you something to tide you over." Thea handed a coffee to Oliver before moving to where Dig sat.

Diggle accepted the coffee with a smile, which Thea returned in kind. The younger Queen had grown attached to Felicity, viewing her as a close friend and sister. When she came marching into the hospital around two in the morning, after Verdant had closed and she received Roy's message, she was angry.

She demanded why Oliver didn't tell her that Felicity had been shot, she went in search of anyone who could give her more answers, and she arranged for Felicity to have the best care in the whole hospital once she was moved to recovery. Diggle watched, half amused, half terrified, as Thea began ordering hospital staff around.

She reminded him of Moira in that moment – Thea would do anything for her family, and Felicity was family.

"Wow, look at her." Thea remarked with a slow smile forming on her lips. "Her coloring is coming back, don't you think?"

Thea had stayed with them for a few hours more after Felicity had been moved to the Intensive Care Unit. She cried the first time she saw her, running her fingers through Felicity's hair and along her face. Thea grabbed a chair and moved it so that she was as close to Felicity's head as possible without being in the way of the hospital staff who had to come and check on Felicity throughout the night.

No one said anything as the three of them watched and waited.

"Thea, could you give Mr. Diggle and me a minute?" Oliver's voice was sharp.

"Actually, I said all I needed to say." Diggle remarked as he crossed his arms in his chair.

Thea looked between both men, her brother standing rigid at the foot of the bed while Diggle just look tired. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, just, we need to talk for a minute." Oliver tried again, his voice beginning to lose its bite.

"Oliver, you know as well as I do that going out there right now, is not the best idea." Diggle tried again, leaning forward in his chair as he spoke. The night was beginning to catch up to him and all he wanted to do was hold his daughter and pretend that everything was ok.

"And what if this were Lyla? Or Sara?" Oliver pleaded. "Would you sit in a hospital room, or would you go out and find the person responsible for putting her there?"

Diggle watched as Thea sat on the bed beside Felicity, picking up her hand to squeeze it between her own smaller, delicate hands.

"It was Lyla once, or don't you remember?" Diggle attempted, knowing that Oliver was grasping at anything. "You told me to go to her, to stay with her, and to trust you to find the person responsible. So trust me now. Trust Roy and Laurel."

As he was speaking, Diggle stood to his feet and moved to place his hand on Oliver's shoulder.

"Ollie, she's going to want to see you first, not Mr. Diggle or me." Thea interrupted softly before taking a deep breath and continuing in a voice that was almost not her own. "I promise you that we will find the person who did this, and they will pay, but Felicity comes first."

"I should have been there," Oliver whimpered as he dragged his hands through his hair and down his stubbled cheeks. "I should have protected her from this."

Diggle glanced over to where she lay, quiet and small, so unlike the Felicity he knew.

"There's no way that you could have known that this would happen," Diggle said, but truth be told, he was unsure if he was saying it to himself or Oliver. "And the first person to tell you that would be Felicity."

Thea nodded along before reaching her hand out to Oliver, and grasping his firmly in her own. He gave her a small 'thank you' smile before returning to his chair at her bedside, with John returning to his. That was where they stayed – her almost brother, her best friend, and the love of her life – until she woke up thirty six hours later.


End file.
